Youngling
by LostintheTARDIS
Summary: Obi-Wan is sent on a rescue mission to find his missing padawan, shot down after completing a mission of his own, but what he finds is not what he expects. "No, it... It's not possible, Obi-Wan. How can Anakin Skywalker be this little boy?" De-aged!Anakin
1. Found

Hello! Though I'm only allowed to pick two genres, this should have plenty of humour, friendship, drama and H/C thrown in for good measure. Feedback is very much appreciated, but if you have none to give, follows are too! New chapters should follow soon. Enjoy! ^^

**Disclaimer-** I doubt Lucas needs the fanfiction when he made the films.

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It should have been simple mission. That was what Obi-Wan kept returning to as he stared out into the burning light of stars rushing past them in hyperspace. It should have been a simple mission, and relatively safe too, well, certainly far safer than a lot of the missions they had been on recently. He knew that they were in a war, that nothing was really 'simple' any more, but still, he couldn't help but feel shocked when he heard of Anakin's attack flying back to Couruscant, couldn't stop the feeling of ice flooding his chest when he heard Anakin's last transmission, which ended in a lot of swearing, a lot of static and the sound blaster shots.

He shouldn't feel that way, Obi-Wan knew he shouldn't; he should be concerned, yes (Anakin was his padawan after all), but only to a certain extent. Jedi didn't harbour this amount of fear for people because that implied attachment, a weakness he knew better than to indulge. Yet still, it didn't stop him worrying and his worry grew even more when he felt a stab of fear and pain shoot through their bond two days after Anakin's attack. It told him that he was alive, which was something at least, but that was all he could be told. There was no information, no actual communication via their bond, just emotion, constant raw emotion. Obi-Wan found it difficult to sleep because of it; it was hard to rest when he could sense his padawan's constant fear and exhaustion throbbing through the Force, hard not to worry when he could_ feel_ his padawan's suffering. He thought that it would be difficult for anyone, even a Jedi, to withstand that.

Of course, he had the ability to block Anakin out, but something in him was refusing to allow such relief. It was as though if he didn't feel Anakin's presence, then he ceased to exist all together. He knew that that wasn't the case, knew that this constant call for help was doing him more harm than good, but he still couldn't bring himself to shield himself from his padawan's calls for more than a few hours at least.

He didn't understand why, if Anakin could convey his state of mind, he couldn't pass anything else across their bond; there were no images, no words, only emotion. It was as though it was something involuntary, like he had lost the ability to put up mental shields. Obi-Wan couldn't imagine why Anakin would lose his ability to transmit information to him. It wasn't just Anakin's seeming disabilities that were concerning. There was a change in their bond... No, not in their bond. That remained as strong as ever, despite his padawan's difficulties. No, the change was in Anakin. Obi-Wan feel could feel it, as though something had shifted in his Force signature, though what could possibly cause it and how it happened was beyond him. It was something... indescribable. He felt changed somehow, though what on Earth it could be was beyond him. Something was just different.

Sighing, Obi-Wan stroked his beard. He knew that he should try not to dwell on it too much. No use wasting energy on trying to solve the unexplainable. Besides, there were other very curious factors to what seemed to be Anakin's kidnapping. For one, Anakin wasn't the only person they were looking for. It had been four days since the first rescue party had been dispatched, Obi-Wan unable to attend as he himself had been on a mission of his own at the time and since they had reported landing, there had been nothing but silence. They could only assume the worse. A team of trained clones and two Jedi Knights wouldn't simply forget to contact, nor would they take so long in a rescue mission, that everyone was almost sure of. The question was, who would have the skill or the means to kill soldiers that they couldn't even contact for help?

The only possible explanation Obi-Wan could think of was that someone was trying to get information off Anakin, but if they were torturing him, then surely he would feel pain through their bond, not just fear? Yes, there was some pain, but not to the extent that would equate it to torture. So, if they weren't torturing the Jedi, who would want him? His padawan had a great deal of raw power, something which he knew certain people would want to abuse or attempt to take control over, but still, they took a great risk shooting the Jedi down. Whoever wanted to tap into that raw power risked a great deal to achieve their ends. And if it wasn't his skills they sought, than what else would it be? There had been no ransom demand, no form of any communication and clearly their plan wasn't to kill Anakin.

What disturbed Obi-Wan the most though was how they had even managed to even find Anakin. Before the crash, Anakin had reported that he thought that he was being tailed, not long after his departure from Kitara, a small planet being coerced into joining the Sepratists. Obi-Wan doubted that someone who had gone to such great lengths to keep his padawan captive for so long and to stop those who tried free him would have done so on a whim. It had all been meticulously planned. If Anakin had noticed being followed leaving the planet, he would have most certainly noticed being followed going there. Someone had previous knowledge of his whereabouts, had been lying in wait whilst he was carrying out his mission, a thought which sent a cold thrill running up his spine. Anakin's mission wasn't common knowledge and it certainly wasn't something that the public would take an interest in. Only those inside the temple were aware of his padawan's leaving at all. An enemy within was most certainly not what Obi-Wan had anticipated, yet there was no other conclusion he could really come to, lest Anakin had told someone outside the temple for some reason or another. Still, a spy wasn't a particularly pleasant thought, especially in a time of war.

Obi-Wan found the entire situation strange, ominous and he would be grateful when it was all figured out and he had his padawan back by his side. Still, they a few hours to go yet before they reached their destination. It would be to his advantage if he made use of the time and rested or at least meditated instead of worrying over what was now the unsolvable. Rather resignedly, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes, preparing to meditate before a sharp stab of fear cut through his conciousness. He flinched, wincing. His padawan must be in a dire strait to be so incapable to keep his mental shields up. Again, the icy feeling seeped through his bones, dark fear clutching at his heart. It was difficult to shake off the worry when he could feel his fear with such painful clarity. It wouldn't do either of them good if Obi-Wan allowed himself to give into the paralysing knowledge that something terrible was happening to Anakin. _His _padawan. It was so very tempting, to panic, to allow fear to consume him, yet he refused to give in. It would not help Anakin if he did. Closing his eyes, sent calming waves across their bond, hoping it would manage to help.

_"I am coming for you, padawan," _Obi-Wan spoke across their bond, gentle, soothing, not allowing the fear that was gnawing at his insides to bleed through to his message, even though he knew there would be no reply, _"hold on, Anakin. I'm coming."_

With a deep sigh, he brought up his shields, unable to hold back a sigh of relief as the feelings of fear left his conciousness, ignoring the guilt that it brought. He sunk into the Force, allowed it to envelop him and sunk deep into meditation. When he finally submerged, they had come out of hyperspace. It wouldn't be long until they reached the planet. There was only himself and Raena Hamaski on this mission, despite knowing that there could be other potential rescuees, the chances of finding any survivors other than Anakin were slim. With a relatively small ship and a strong cloaking device, they would be able to infiltrate the planet undetected.

The planet they were heading to, Maelin, was small forest planet with no civilisation save a few factories abandoned by a failed business who had attempted to tap into the natural resources of the planet. One of the said factories was were Anakin was held. The first search party had really done all of the work for them in regards to discerning which factory it was; now all they had to do was infiltrate it, which was harder than it sounded. Whoever had Anakin had funds, plenty enough to buy themselves a sophisticated defence system. It would be no doubt crawling with droids, which would be problematic, yet it didn't make their mission impossible, merely more complicated.

They needed to land some way off the factory so as not to draw attention to themselves, yet close enough to make a quick enough return should they need to. Judging by Anakin's emotions, it was doubtful he would be in good enough condition to travel long distances or to fight his way out of the factory should they need to, though it the rescue team were still alive, hopefully they would be able to help should the situation call for it. They'd have to make their way to the factory on foot and enter it with as much stealth as possible, which would be relatively easily, seeing as both Jedi had the layouts for the factory memorised. It wouldn't be as quick a rescue as either Jedi would like, both well aware that they were hard pressed for time, but if they didn't do it right, then chances were that they'd both end up being killed and that wouldn't help Anakin in the slightest.

He glanced at Raena as she sat down next to him, her face pinched with concentration as she stared at the green planet coming into view, watching as the emerald mass below became clearer and clearer, the outlines of trees now melting away the jade sea. They landed with no incident, thankfully. Evidently whoever was in the factory didn't expect anyone else to attempt another rescue.

They tracked their way through the forest in silence, both Jedi's minds set solely on what was ahead. As the factory came up, Obi-Wan brought his shields back up. He needed his whole being concentrated on the task at hand. As expected, the factory was well guarded with droids. Still, Obi-Wan tried to stay positive. Droids were far easier defeated than humans and the Jedi had always preferred the feel of electric sparks against his skin as opposed to splatters of blood. They looked strangely out of place, shining new droids against the backdrop the abandoned, crumbling factory. It certainly didn't look like there had been any attempt to turn the building into an operational military base, yet it was clear whoever was there had enough money to do so.

As planned, Raena turned left, whilst Obi-Wan went right, both Jedi slipping through the undergrowth with silent speed. The entrance Obi-Wan was aiming for was a small side entrance and poorly defended by a sole droid that could be easily taken care of. He slipped by it with ease, pleased that he didn't have to cause attention by drawing out his lightsaber. The silence within the factory was unnerving, as was the fact that it was just as derelict on the inside as it was on the out. Hand at his weapon, he proceeded as silently as possible through the empty corridor. It was only then that he let down his mental shields.

_"I'm here, padawan. Give me some sort of sign, any if you can. I know you haven't been able to contact me, but try." _Obi-Wan continued to creep along the silent hall, ears pricked for any sound. He continued along for a time until he came to a room with a door hanging off it's hinges. He slipped inside, frowning. What had once been an office had been torn apart; the large wooden desk on it's side, papers as well as shattered datapads scattered around the floor. What drew his attention to it though was that this room looked as though it had been recently used. There wasn't the thick dust that covered the corridors outside, nor the grime and cobwebs. Something else was wrong with the room; he could sense Anakin's presence here, he could feel him here, yet there was no Anakin and certainly no place where he could hide. So where was he? He heard something shift and instantly he put his hand on his lightsaber. He shouldn't have allowed himself to be distracted, should have sensed that someone or something or than Anakin occupied that room.

Obi-Wan stared at the overturned desk, where the sound had originated from and waited. It could just be a rat, but something told him that it wasn't. It couldn't be his padawan; he was in no way small enough to hide from behind that desk. He stared for what felt like an age, before a small hand appeared on the side of the desk. A child's face peered out, only for a second, before turning back with a squeak. The Jedi blinked in surprise, taken aback. What on earth was a _child_ doing here, of all places? Shaking off his surprise, he crouched down on the floor, gazing at where the hand had been.

"Come out, my little friend," Obi-Wan said quietly, a gentle smile gracing his features, "I will not harm you."

There was a perceptible pause, before a flash of blonde hair and black material came rushing straight at Obi-Wan. The Jedi couldn't stop a smile as the small boy flung himself at his legs, quite literally, for the tunic he wore was far too big and had tripped up the child's skittering feet.

But that was Anakin's tunic.

Obi-Wan stared. What was this youngling doing wearing his padawan's clothes, the youngling in question clinging to his legs so tightly he wondered if he was trying to stop the circulation flow there. And why was there relief flooding through the bond, such overwhelming relief? Unless Raena had got to Anakin before he had...

It took a moment for everything to slide into place. Obi-Wan stared at the small boy, whose face was hidden against his knees. No... It couldn't be. But he could feel his presence, his force signature, he was right here in this very room... Not quite able to speak, he tapped the boy's shoulder, watching as the small face turned up to meet his. It took Obi-Wan nearly a full minute for him to speak.

"Anakin?"


	2. Distractions

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited! I appreciate all of the feedback I've got! By the way, to all those who've previously read this story, I have changed the title- I hope that didn't confuse anyone ^^; I hope you enjoy my next chapter!

_coco- _Thank you for the review! I hope you enjoy this chapter ^^

_Pam- _Thank you for the review! :3

**Disclaimers-** Nope, still not George Lucas.

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When Obi-Wan would look back on that particular event, he found himself grateful that his padawan wasn't old enough to appreciate the look of complete and utter shock on his face. Doubtless he would have had his irritating smirk playing on his mouth as he watched his master fall back onto his backside, simply too shocked to stop himself. But at the time, all Obi-Wan was concerned with was this small boy, this youngling that was impossibly his padawan. His surprise grew as the impossible Anakin hit him on the knee with a small hand.

"Late!"

Obi-Wan blinked, "I-I'm sorry?"

The child had a scowl on his face, a scowl Obi-Wan knew all too well, having seen it far too many times on a disgruntled padawan forced to do homework or wash the dishes, a scowl that had somehow transferred onto this small boy's face.

"Late!" Anakin piped up again, glowering up at Obi-Wan, "Where _were_ you?" sadness crept into the child's features and a look of hurt, one which the Jedi could feel throb through the bond, overtook the anger that had been so prominent, "needed you," he said plaintively, frowning at him.

All Obi-Wan could do was stare. Really, the pair must have looked quite comical, a gaping Jedi and a two or three year old child swathed in a too large tunic, "Anakin?" he blinked, trying to clear his thoughts, "Anakin is... Is that you?"

The hurt look intensified, "Yes!" he exclaimed, looking extremely offended that his own master couldn't recognise him, "'m your padawan," he finished off rather sadly, the scowl now turned into a familiar pout.

It seemed all Obi-wan's questioning was doing was reaffirming what appeared to be both impossible and yet the only available conclusion and upsetting his padawan. He took a deep breath, trying to regain some of his Jedi calm that had been lost with Anakin's appearance. He doubted even the most grounded of Jedi would find this baffling situation easy to deal with.

"I'm sorry, Anakin," he said, placing a hand on his arm, trying to hold off his surprise at feeling his entire palm engulfing the small limb, "but... what happened?"

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, before he froze. Obi-Wan turned, eyes on the doorway, ears pricked. It was scarcely a whisper of a sound, so quiet you could only hear it if you were looking out for it, but hear it they did. Footsteps. Instantly, Anakin latched himself to his master's legs, wide blue eyes fixed on the doorway. Obi-Wan rose to his feet, a feat made slightly difficult by just how firmly his padawan was holding onto him. He shouldn't have let himself get distracted, a theme which unfortunately seemed to be reoccurring. Still, this time he could hardly be blamed for it; his padawan had magically lost around about nineteen years of his age after all.

As silently as was humanly possible, managed to get the desk standing vertically with the Force, brow furrowed in concentration. It was the only place he could really hide and he'd rather opt for watching and waiting than diving straight into the fray, especially with Anakin... being as he was. With a little persuasion he managed to prise off the small arms that were wound so tightly round his shins and swept him up into his arms, stepping swiftly behind the upturned desk. It wouldn't do whoever it was any good to know Anakin was in the room, seeing as he was clearly the object of their search.

He lifted his cloak, balancing his padawan on his hip before wrapping his cloak around him, hand under his bottom to keep him steady, _"Keep quiet, padawan," _he ordered gently, _"and hold on tight. I may need to run."_

He felt a small nod against his side, felt small hands gripping tightly at his tunic and the tremors rippling through the tiny body. It was frightening to be able to feel Anakin's fragility, his complete and utter vulnerability and knowing that he was the only thing standing in the way of his padawan's harm... well, that was something Obi-Wan really did not want to focus on. Raena on the other side of the building. There was no one else but him. One arm taken up with Anakin, the other preparing to ignite his lightsaber, there was little he could do to soothe away the youngling's fear, all save pressing a kiss to his head.

_"I have Anakin," _Obi-Wan informed Raena, his grip on the precious bundle tightening as he heard the footsteps come nearer, _"If we can't find the rescue team soon, then we must leave,"_ the Jedi wanted to keep their stay as short as possible; Anakin was in far too vulnerable a state for them to conduct a thorough search. If himself and Raena were killed, Anakin would be helpless, _"I think we should- someone's coming."_

Obi-Wan tensed as he heard light footfalls enter the room. There was a pause. He could feel Anakin bite his tunic, presumably to stop himself from crying out. The fear radiating from him was nearly overwhelming and he was forced to pull up his shields. He couldn't afford to lose concentration, yet he knew that if his padawan was scared enough, there was chance that he may cry out.

"Anakin?"

Obi-Wan couldn't help but stiffen as a sing-song voice sliced through the silence like a knife cut through butter. It had a horribly eerie quality, as if some horrible, slimy creature from the depths of a pool had been given the gift of speech. The effect was evident on his padawan, who somehow managed to cling to his master even tighter. He could feel his tunic grow damp as Anakin chomped at the material, clearly determined not to make sound, no matter how terrified he was.

"Anakin?" The silky-slimy voice called again, the quiet footfalls carefully treading through the debris, "Come out, Anakin. You're a clever boy, surely you must know that we're under orders not to harm you?" Kenobi heard the man drawing nearer. He could kill him, but that would confirm any suspicion from any passing droid or searcher. Still, he didn't particularly want to murder this man, especially in front of Anakin; though he had obviously retained his adult memories (he would have to think about that once they weren't in such immediate danger), he was still a youngling and bloodshed was no sight for a child. Besides, either attacker or Anakin could make a great deal of noise if he did so.

"Be a good boy and come out now," the silky voice drew ever nearer. He had reached the opposite side of the desk, before he paused. Both Master and Padawan were holding their breaths. The silence must have lasted for about a minute, though it felt like ten, before Obi-Wan heard the click of a comlink, "Droids, convene on corridor twe-" he didn't have the chance to finish his sentence and the desk he stood in front of blasted straight into him. Both him and the desk flew forward, landing with a deafening crash against the wall. The Jedi couldn't help but wince at the sound; it would be far easier for the droids to find them now.

He had heard his padawan's cry of surprise when he had Force-thrown the desk straight into their perpetrator and he looked down to see the small boy, safely hidden in the folds of his cloak save the small, pale face staring up at him. He could see the fear in Anakin's face, a sight which hurt far more than Obi-Wan could ever have imagined. He smiled down at him, allowing another kiss to his forehead and a hand to stroke the now baby soft hair, "It's alright, Anakin," he murmured, "we're going to get out of here. I'll keep you safe, I promise," his padawan frowned at him with a look of such seriousness that looked odd on such a young face and nodded with earnest. How could Anakin have changed so much yet somehow stayed entirely the same? He still trusted his master explicitly, without thought, without hesitation. If Obi-Wan said they'd get them out of here then they would. It seemed that to Anakin it was that simple. The Jedi wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

Lightsaber in hand, Kenobi made his way out of the room, not allowing the boy to see the crumpled body on the floor. He was still alive, but it wouldn't be a particularly comforting sight to a youngling. Checking either side of the corridor for any sign of droids, he quietly stepped out of the room and began making his way to the exit, which he was hoping beyond hope wouldn't be cut off by droids.

_"Obi-Wan," _Raena's voice came loud and clear in his head, _"we need to leave now. The rescue team are dead and I just saw some droids go by from what I can tell they're in a hurry to go somewhere."_

Obi-Wan just barely resisted the urge to groan. Well, wasn't that just wonderful, _"That would be for us," _came his grim reply, _"Would it be possible for you to get the ship as close to the South entrance as you can without being seen?"_

_"I can certainly try," _Obi-Wan could almost see Raena's face set in grim determination, _"How's Anakin?"_

Obi-Wan blinked at the question, actually stopping short to look down at the small boy cradled against his chest. How on earth was he to explain this to Raena, to anyone, when he himself had no idea what was going on? It took him a moment before he replied, _"Uninjured," _was his rather cryptic answer, though he was technically being truthful, _"He's... I will explain when we get to the ship."_

He could practically feel the confusion in Raena's reply, though thankfully she didn't question him,_ "I'll meet you there."_

Kenobi's progress down the empty halls was swift and silent, a mere ghost passing through the abandoned building. The Jedi couldn't help but be impressed as to how silent his padawan could be, but then, it only just occurred to him, that he had had to be silent for the past five days or so. Though it was clear the older Anakin was still present, it was an impressive feat for a scared child to evade capture for so long.

It was a pity that the master didn't share the same luck as his padawan.

"There are the intruders," the familiar, robotic voice broke the silence, "open fi-" Obi-Wan swung round before the droid could even finish, lightsaber slicing through the droid. One arm still clutching the hidden child, Obi-Wan faced the battalion of droids ahead of him, his face, set with fierce determination, illuminated blue in the darkness. If droids were capable of emotion, shivers of fear would have crackled through their circuits.

Kenobi had faced far more fearful enemies than droids. Droids were mere sparring practise in comparison to the seemingly endless number of enemies he had. But he was scared to face them now. His concentration was torn; one hand was a mere blur as he deflecting bolt after bolt from the droids blasters, but the other was gripping Anakin as tightly as he could. One stray blaster and it would be a dead child that he would be cradling so fast to his chest. His padawan. One false move and he would lose everything.

It didn't help that amid the blaster shots and orders from the droids, the hum and electric crackle of his lightsaber was the sounds of screams. Anakin was out of his mind with terror. His small hands were clutching at Obi-Wan's robes and he was screaming and screaming against his shoulder. It's sound was chilling and frightening and heart breaking at the same time. It was scaring Obi-Wan, distracting him, because all he could think about was what happened if he missed, what happened if those screams stopped or carried on for another reason, what if-

_CRASH_

The world around the Jedi exploded. Before he could even contemplate was was happening, he was flying down the corridor, soaring into the wall with the sickening crack-crunch of bone against metal. He lay there, simply too stunned to do anything else. He saw the remnants of the droids scattered across the floor, but it took him a full minute for him to actually register that they were destroyed. Kenobi continued to stare, dazed, until he felt a weight on his chest making him grimace, looking to see the cause of four specific points of pressure pressing down against him.

Anakin was on all fours on his chest, staring at him with round eyes. Obi-Wan could just make out the tear tracks on his pale cheeks in the dim.

"Master?" The voice was small, tremulous, filled to the brim with worry. He stared intently into the Jedi's face, "Are... D-did I hurt you?"

_Anakin_ did this? Obi-Wan stared past the small boy crouching on his chest and at the twenty or so droids, scattered around the floor like toys left behind by a child called away from play time. The Jedi didn't even know it was possible for younglings to have such power at this age, though Anakin wasn't strictly a youngling, not entirely. Was it possible for him to still have the same access to the power he had as a Jedi? His wonder-struck thoughts were broken by a sniffle. His gaze snapped back to the child perched on him.

"M-Master?" the question came again, this time smaller, more tremulous, the quiver in his voice accompanied by a few tears marking their progress down his grimy cheeks, "I-I'm sorry..." Obi-Wan could have almost sworn his heart was breaking into pieces.

"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan sat up with some difficulty, padawan sliding from his chest to his lap. He easily cupped his cheek with a palm, a calloused thumb, brushing away the tears and dirt, "No. I'm all right. You have no need to be sorry. From what I can tell you probably saved us," he gave his tearful padawan a gentle smile, the smile widening as Anakin practically collapsed against his chest in a dramatic embrace. It seemed that some things about his padawan had not been lost throughout his magical change.

He wrapped his arms around the still surprisingly small body, letting the boy bury his face against his chest. They stayed like that for a time, the panicky, ragged breaths of the youngling evening out and the pain in Obi-Wan's back receding to a dull ache. After a few minutes or so, the Jedi master clambered to his feet, padawan settled back in the crook of his arm, the ache flared up again into a fiery burn

"Come on," Obi-Wan murmured, his features graced with another smile as he gazed down at Anakin, "I think it would be best if we kept moving," reaching out with the Force, his abandoned lightsaber flew to his hand. Wrapping his padawan up again in his cloak, he headed back down the corridor. By some miracle they made it to the exit without further intervention. Making their way out of the perimeter and back into the forest, unseen by droids on red alert would be a somewhat different story. From the way Anakin was frowning up at Obi-Wan with such seriousness, the Jedi could guess that his padawan shared his concerns.

"I will get you back safe," Obi-Wan assured him, his voice firm, yet Anakin remained unconvinced.

"You?" he asked, frowning up at his master.

Kenobi nodded, "Yes, Anakin. I will be safe too. The both of us will be all right. I promise."

Anakin held his gaze for a moment longer, a gaze surprisingly intense for such a young child. If he didn't know just who was staring at him with such intent, Obi-Wan would have found it a little unnerving. Finally, he finally gave a nod of affirmation. Obi-Wan drew up his hood, fingers pressed against the door.

"Are you ready?"

Another nod.

Obi-Wan let out a breath, before giving Anakin one last smile, "Then hold on tight."


	3. Changes (or lack thereof)

Hello! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited! There will be more actual plot development in the next chapter, but for this, it'll mostly be focused on Anakin and Obi-Wan. :3 **Warning: **This chapter will contain slightly graphic mentions of child abuse. If this is triggering for you, do not read this chapter.

_Pam- _Thank you again for another review!

_smile888- _Thank you so much for the review! Yes, the councils' reaction to Anakin will most definitely be interesting ;)

**Disclaimers:** Still not George Lucas

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"No!"

"Anakin-"

"No!"

"Anakin, you need to let me take some blood," The exasperation could be heard in Obi-Wan's voice as he tried to reason with the obstinate youngling, who's arms swathed in too long sleeves were crossed against his chest. Anakin glowered up at his master, who looked less than pleased himself.

"No!" came the determined reply, "It'll hurt."

"No, it won't-"

"Liar!"

Obi-Wan couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes, "Yes, all right, it will hurt, but not a lot!"

Anakin 'humph'ed and wriggled a little away from Obi-Wan. Raena sat in front of them, watching the exchange with both bafflement and amusement. They were sat in the medcentre of the ship, the padawan sat on the examination table, his exasperated master standing over him, his own arms folded across his chest.

"No!" the padawan shouted again, determination etched on his fierce scowl, well, as fierce as any scowl could be when written on a face so young.

Obi-Wan ran a hand across his face and sighed. It had been a long day. They had barely made it to the ship by the skin of their teeth, their presence being alerted to the droids not long after leaving the building. Their entire escapade through the forest to Raena had ended with Obi-Wan sat on the floor of the ship, trying to calm down a rather hysterical youngling whilst a panicked Raena searched about desperately for the missing Anakin. It was only when the Jedi had managed to prise the boy off his chest that he could finally explain to the Jedi master what had happened.

She was still shocked, as was Obi-Wan really. He knew it was Anakin, but still, it was a surreal experience, to see your twenty one year old padawan turn into a child within the space of five days. Only Raena had the privilege of not having to actually deal with said child. Obi-Wan did not.

"Anakin," he tried again, trying to ease out any signs of frustration from his voice, "Do you trust me?" Though look on Anakin's face right then said that he really, really didn't, he reluctantly nodded his head, "Then you must trust me to do this."

"Why?"

Obi-Wan frowned a little, "Why you have to trust me or why I have to do this?"

Anakin nodded, "Last one."

"Because we have to make sure that... this is you."

"This _is _me!" Anakin cried, the hurt sound making the Jedi wince a little, "You don't trust me!"

"I do, padawan," he said with a sigh, cupping the boys cheek with a palm. The boy still glowered, yet he didn't pull away, his glare watered down a little with hurt, "I do. I know this is you, but you have changed a great amount, Anakin. And although_ I_ may know the truth, others may not believe what their eyes tell them unless they're given proof. Do you understand?"

Anakin broke his gaze, glaring down at the tunic that pooled around him. He stayed like that for a moment, before finally he gave a stiff nod. He huffed, turning his face from his master and stuck out his arm dramatically, as though he was condemned to have it removed. Obi-Wan smiled, "Thank you, Anakin," he said, though as expected, he got no reply from the sulky youngling. He pulled back the swathes of material and started. Anakin squeezed his eyes shut tight and whimpered as he felt a small but painful prick on his arm, "There" the Jedi said, smiling, "all done," the padawan's eyes shot open, holding his arm up to his face as though expecting to see a hole there, then looked back up at Obi-Wan, eyes round with surprise.

The Jedi couldn't help but chuckle, "See?" he said, smiling down at him, "that wasn't so bad, was it?" The scowl returned, though Obi-Wan knew full well why it was there. Anakin simply didn't like to be proved wrong.

"Was," Anakin grumbled, pulling back the offended arm to the safety of his chest.

Obi-Wan merely smiled and went to a small control panel to analyse the sample. Anakin watched him at first before he spotted Raena staring at him with a look he couldn't quite decipher. He wrinkled his nose in irritation and stuck out his tongue, making her flinch with surprise.

"Padawan," Obi-Wan didn't even have to look up to reprimand him, "behave."

"I am," Anakin protested, shuffling so that his feet were dangling off the table. For the next minute, the youngling was happily occupied watching the ripples his kicking legs were making across his tunic and Raena continued to observe without notice.

"Raena," Obi-Wan turned to her, nodding at the console, "come look. It's him."

She rose to her feet, shaking her head. Both Jedi stared at the analysis for a moment in silence before she murmured, "No, it... It's not possible, Obi-Wan. How can Anakin Skywalker be this little boy?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, "I don't know. But... he is. I mean... even before these results, I knew. I could recognise his Force signature. It's him. Though what could have caused this, I have no idea," he turned to her, "have you ever heard of something like this happening."

Raena scoffed, "I think if I did you would have heard about it as well. This... This is something- hey!" she dashed to the table, lifting Anakin, who was half dangling off the edge, back onto the top.

He growled in frustration and glared at her, "Boring," he grumbled, in way of explanation, "want something to eat."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan came forward to the table, "when was the last time you ate?" the padawan thought for a moment before shrugging, "or drank?" Another shrug, "Do you... know how long you've been missing?"

Anakin frowned at his lap, evidently thinking hard, before shaking his head, "Hard to remember," he mumbled, looking rather worried as he said it.

"Don't worry about it now. It's all right if you can't remember," Obi-Wan said gently. As much as Obi-Wan wanted to ask what had happened, he doubted it would do any good now, for either him or his padawan. Doubtless adrenaline was keeping him awake, but as soon as that ran out, he would feel the exhaustion of the past few days and tiredness rarely made way for coherent answers. All Obi-Wan knew was that they hadn't hurt him, which frankly was all the information he really needed right then. The only injuries he had were on feet, yet even the sight of the small soles bloodied with cuts had been enough to make his stomach turn. "Let's just focus on getting you fed first, hm?"

The boy nodded, though he still looked concerned. Obi-Wan turned to get some water, allowing a frown to cross his brow. In all honesty, he was surprised that he had remembered anything at all. It was strange; Anakin was definitely a child, he certainly spoke and acted like one, but he still remembered Obi-Wan. He was a youngling and yet somehow, he'd retained the memories and characteristics of his older self. If it was bewildering for Obi-Wan, so how was it not completely confusing and terrifying for his padawan? He certainly knew that he had changed, he acknowledged it, but he didn't find it particularly concerning. Perhaps he had got used to the idea during his captivity? It was as though somehow the adult and child Anakin melded together. Maybe it was for the best. His adult padawan would have doubtless been mortified to find himself in such a state and Kenobi would have taken no pleasure in seeing his friend so humiliated.

Obi-Wan pressed the cup into his padawan's small hands. Anakin started off slowly, taking a few sips, but soon he was gulping it down, "Slow down, padawan," the Jedi said calmly, pulling the cup out of Anakin's hands. The boy growled and tried to snatch it back, arms flailing as his master held it easily out of his reach, "if you drink too much too fast you'll get ill," he explained, trying not to smile at his padawan's fruitless attempts to snatch back his water. He couldn't deny that it was a slightly amusing sight, "drink slower this time," the Jedi said calmly, giving back the water, earning himself an insulted look from his padawan, yet he did drink the rest down at a reasonable pace.

It was quite evident that his memories had stayed in tact when Raena held up a ration bar. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and wriggled backwards from the offending food, "I know it doesn't taste nice, but we need you on something basic," she explained, smiling, "your stomach won't be able to handle much if you haven't eaten anything proper for days."

Anakin, rather desperately, looked to Obi-Wan, who nodded. The small boy huffed out a sigh of irritation and held out his hand for the ration bar. Both Jedi could tell by the numerous and rather amusing faces he was pulling that Anakin was not enjoying his meal. Ration bars were not known for their great taste, but it was basic and as Raena said, basic was what Anakin needed. He grimaced as he swallowed down the last bit of the bar, putting the wrapper into Raena's open palm, who then made her way to the cockpit of the ship.

"Ew," he murmured, looking at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan smiled, "I know. I'll cook you something better once we get back to Coruscant."

"Promise?" Anakin asked, squeezing his eyes shut as a huge yawn came at the end of his sentence.

"Yes, I promise," Obi-Wan murmured, "Do you want to take a nap?"

Anakin nodded, now looking at his master with bleary eyes. He stretched out his arms and made a grabbing motion with his hands. Obi-Wan frowned, "Cloak," he muttered.

"Oh," Obi-Wan pulled of his cloak and wrapped it around his small padawan. The boy managed to roll himself up in it until he made a cocoon for himself, the garment wrapped up to his nose. Nearly as soon as his head hit the table, he was asleep. The Jedi pulled up a chair and sat, watching the even rises and falls of his padawan's form. He wasn't altogether too sure how long he sat there watching him. He could hear Raena in the control room contacting the Jedi council. He'd have to remember to thank her for that later; Force only knew how she could even begin to attempt explaining this to the council. He didn't envy her position at all.

He sank back into his chair with a sigh. His own tiredness was catching up with him. He hadn't got that much sleep of his own recently, most of his time being spent worrying about his padawan. But he was here now. Anakin was safe. Obi-Wan shut his eyes, allowing that reassuring reality to sink in for a moment. He was safe. He was safe. It didn't matter how much he had changed, he was still his padawan and he had saved him. That was all that mattered. Even though there was so much unanswered, so many questions yet to be put forward, in that moment, all Obi-Wan cared about was the youngling curled up in his cloak, sleeping peacefully in front of him.

When Raena finished contacting the council, she headed back to the medcentre, though she barely got a few steps in before pulling up short. She stared for a moment and then smiled. Obi-Wan's front was sprawled out against the table, head resting on his arms. Anakin lay next to him, wrapped up in a loose, messy nest of his master's cloak, face pressed against Obi-Wan's forearm, arms wrapped round the rest. She pulled off her own cloak and placed it carefully around Obi-Wan's shoulders. Neither master or padawan moved. Without really considering why, she ran a hand through Anakin's blonde locks, before turning to leave them in peace.

"Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan?" The Jedi shifted under the hand shaking his shoulder, groaning into his arms, "Obi-Wan. We're nearly here," sounding far from the dignified Jedi Master he usually was, Obi-Wan sat up with a moan, grimacing as he stretched out his stiff back.

"We can't be there already," he mumbled, blinking to clear his bleary eyes, "we still have a few hours to go yet before-"

"You fell asleep," the amusement could be heard in Raena's voice and it was only then that Obi-Wan acknowledged the feeling of a cloak slipping off his shoulders.

"Oh," he scrubbed his face with his hands, pushing back a yawn, "Why didn't you wake me?"

"You needed it," Raena explained simply, taking back her cloak that had pooled at the seat of the chair, "besides, I think you'll need the energy you can get when it comes to looking after him," she nodded at Anakin, who had remained asleep despite the Jedis' conversation.

"I'm not going to argue with you there," Obi-Wan murmured dryly. Anakin was a handful when he was nine and, in the nicest possible way, a nightmare as a teenager, so Force only knew what he would be like when he was this young. Perhaps if he got worse with age, then he would now be easier to handle, but something told him that that wasn't the case, "by the way, what exactly did you tell the council?"

"I told them it was something they needed to see with their own eyes," she said simply, shrugging.

"I bet they liked that," Obi-Wan said with a wry smile, "Anakin," he said, shaking the youngling gently by the shoulder, "come, Anakin, we're nearly home. You can sleep once we get there," the boy groaned and rolled over pulling up the hood over his face. He smiled, "I'm afraid that isn't going to help you much, padawan," he said, pulling away the folds of his cloak and pulling Anakin out from his make shift blanket, sitting him up on the table.

The youngling looked exhausted, rubbing at his eyes, which hadn't actually opened yet. He whimpered as he felt the warmth disappear from his legs, "I know, I know," Obi-Wan murmured, pulling on his cloak, "but we'll be there soon."

Anakin blinked and looked wearily up at his master, too tired to even bother being angry with him. As a way of compromise, Obi-Wan pulled the exhausted boy onto his lap, which would doubtless be more comfortable than the table. His head lolled back onto his chest and the Jedi looked down to see bleary blue eyes gazing up at him. He smiled down at the youngling without thought, stroking the soft, blonde hair, "Not long now, padawan."

Despite Obi-Wan's best efforts, Anakin soon fell back asleep. It wouldn't be good if his padawan continued to doze off in the middle of meeting the council, who undoubtedly bombard him with questions Kenobi doubted he could answer. His only hope was that he could convince them to save questioning him till later; of course, he understood just how bizarre and confusing it all was and that the council would want answers, but in this state, the Jedi doubted they would get anything more than yawns.

Obi-Wan hadn't been surprised to see Master Windu and Master Yoda waiting for them in the main hangar bay, despite it being the early hours of the morning. That certainly wouldn't stand in their way of seeing something that couldn't be explained with words. Still, he wished he could have prepared Anakin for this, who was currently sleeping in his arms, head resting against his chest.

"Well, this should be fun," he murmured to Raena, watching the landing platform descend slowly.

"I'll leave this to you, shall I?" Raena asked with a smirk, her reply a rather derisive snort.

There wasn't a time Obi-Wan could recall where Master Yoda or Master Windu were surprised, or if there was, certainly they didn't show it. Not like this. He felt their eyes follow him as he walked down the ramp, their gaze falling onto the child cradled in his arms. He watched as Windu's jaw slackened just a little and Yoda's emerald eyes widen with realisation of just who that little boy was. He reached the Masters, bowing, though the move was made a little difficult with the sleeping padawan in his arms.

There was a moment of silence, before Windu, eyes fixed on the boy, asked, "Is that Skywalker?"

Obi-Wan nodded. At Yoda's wave of his stick, he knelt down and gently tipped Anakin up onto his feet. The youngling let out a half wine half groan at the movement and tried to push away at the hands holding him up. "Padawan," Obi-Wan said gently, ignoring the watchful stares of the Masters, "you need to wake up. Open your eyes."

Anakin rubbed at them with a fist before he finally opened his eyes. He recoiled a little against Obi-Wan's legs when he saw Yoda right in front of him; it was clearly not what he expected to see. The Jedi Master peered into the youngling's face, the said youngling a little more than surprised by his examination.

"Anakin Skywalker, are you?" Yoda questioned, peering into his face.

Anakin nodded.

"Know who I am, hm?"

"Master Yoda," came the quiet reply, his voice a little raspy with exhaustion and disuse.

"Here," Obi-Wan handed Windu the vial of Anakin's blood, "you can analyse it if you want, but I have already done so. It's him."

"Know that before the test you did, Obi-Wan?" Yoda asked, though it was more of a statement than an inquiry, "strong is the bond between padawan and master. Changed he is not to you."

"Only in some things, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan concurred, smiling down at Anakin who simply looked baffled by the whole conversation, still drowsy from his sleep.

Yoda looked at the youngling for a moment more, before turning his gaze back to Obi-Wan, "Take him home now you may, Obi-Wan. Much rest I see he needs."

"But Master, surely we should question him?" Windu asked, frowning at Skywalker, which made the boy recoil against Obi-Wan even more. Anakin had always rubbed Windu up the wrong way, some times through his mischief, other times through no fault of his own. Evidently the padawan had not forgotten the less than cordial relationship with the Jedi Master.

"Deprived of the company of younglings you have been for too long, I think, Master Windu," Yoda said, looking up at the Jedi master. Obi-Wan could hear the amusement in the troll's voice, "no use is a youngling too tired to stand without his Master's help."

Windu sighed and looked at the small boy before him. He did look exhausted, his eyelids drooping, though he could see that the child was doing his best to stay alert and keep his gaze on him. Yoda had a point; they wouldn't get much out of Skywalker in the state he was in. He nodded at Obi-Wan, who gathered his padawan back up into his arms, the youngling cradled to his chest.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, grateful that Yoda understood Anakin's needs, even if Windu was a little more reluctant to do so. He took leave of the Jedi, feeling the eyes at his back, yet he didn't turn round to meet their gaze.

It was pleasant walking through the halls; it carried a peaceful silence the Jedi found could only be generated by the calm of an early morning. Anakin had always been different in that regard. From too many forced early mornings as a slave, he'd grown to almost hate the morning, preferring instead to sleep through it. He appreciated the night more by far; ever since he was his padawan, Obi-Wan had often had difficulty dragging him from the window where the star struck child would stare in awe at Coruscant's lights, gazing as though the stars had rained down from the sky and had attached themselves to all of the planet.

A new world, a strange and exciting world, so different from the barren, desert planet where he had been raised. At times, Anakin had been scared of something so incredibly different and foreign, but mostly, he found his new home amazing. Even at day, the boy had always admired the spires of the city, whether they were sun-soaked in the morn or sparkling in the night like diamond encrusted towers. It had been one of the things he had been teased about; all of the padawans had grown up in the city and so didn't quite appreciate the scenery as much as Anakin had. They found it amusing when he was told off for not listening in class when he was too busy gazing out of the window.

The sun bathed corridors didn't rouse his padawan from his slumber, nor did the quiet swoosh of the door opening as Obi-Wan stepped into their apartment with sigh. It certainly was nice to be back. He shut the door behind him and headed to Anakin's room. He sighed as he walked inside, "What did I tell you about tidying your room, Anakin?" he asked, exasperated as he looked at the disaster that was his padawan's room, "you'll be helping me clean it up once you wake up," he promised the sleeping Anakin, "It doesn't matter if you're three now, you were twenty one when you made the mess, so you'll still be tidying it up."

He pulled back the covers on the bed and gently, laid the unconscious youngling down on the mattress, pausing, the covers in his hands. He looked so small, so impossibly small. It was frightening and for the first time in years, Obi-Wan felt a thrill of worry, panic and foreboding all in the same rush that had ran through his body when he first realised he would actually have to raise a child all on his own. It was the knowledge that something so delicate, so very _breakable_ relied entirely on you, to keep them fed, to keep them happy, to keep them safe. It paralysed him. It took him a moment to come to his senses, mentally reprimanding himself for allowing to be so caught up in his emotions. This was not like before, it wasn't starting from the beginning all over again. It was Anakin, _his _Anakin, the boy he knew and raised. It wasn't a stranger, he wasn't lost in grief. It was different this time. It would be all right.

He pulled the rumpled sheets up over the sleeping form, gazing for a moment at the boy before rising to his feet and heading outside. He practically collapsed down on the sofa, allowing his eyes to close and his hand to come up to his face. Out every single scenario Obi-Wan had pictured happening on that rescue mission, this was most definitely not one of them. Now Anakin was asleep, he allowed himself to ponder the incredulity of the situation. His padawan was a _child. _He was a three year old! How could it even be possible!? He leant back against the sofa and groaned.

How long would Anakin be like this? What if he had to bring up his padawan all over again?! He shuddered at the thought; as much he cared for him, he did not want to relive Anakin's teenage years. Force, the hormonal levels that boy suffered from must have been astronomical. He swore no one else's padawans were half as moody or liable to mood swings as his was. He looked over to the boy's room, the door still open. He stared for a minute or so, before scrubbing his weary face with a rough palm. These questions, pressing as they seemed, did not need to be answered right this minute. He wasn't going to be getting the answers any time soon, so he may as well just leave the questions alone. Obi-Wan couldn't help but imagine Qui-Gon's voice calmly remind him to keep his mind on the present. What needed to be sorted out right now was feeding Anakin and getting him some decent clothes. He couldn't walk around in his tunic, he'd probably end up tripping over every other step.

He glanced again at his padawan. He was reluctant to leave him, despite knowing full well that he wouldn't wake up any time soon, that he was safe from any harm. Still, it wasn't a pleasant feeling to leave a three year old on their own for any extended period of time, but he couldn't take Anakin with him to get clothes. The scene it would cause was not something he wanted a half asleep youngling to be part of. No, it would be better if he went on his own. With any luck, he wouldn't meet anyone in the laundry room and would avoid any awkward questions. With one last look at Anakin, Obi-Wan left their apartment.

...

It was noon by the time Anakin woke up. Obi-Wan was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the news whilst sipping a cup of tea when heard a soft thud from behind him. He turned round and watched as a half asleep Anakin stumbled into view. He rubbed at one eye with his fist, pausing to grind out all of the remaining sleep before he noticed Obi-Wan watching him. He looked over and gave a big, sleepy smile, one which his master happily returned.

"Good morning," he said lightly, "or should I say good afternoon."

"Hi," Anakin said, giving a little wave. He made his way over to Obi-Wan, constantly nearly tripping over, arms held out like he was on a trapeze, though the issue wasn't his balance but the long tunic practically acting like a dress, "promise," he said expectantly, looking up at his master.

Obi-Wan frowned, "Promise what, padawan?"

Anakin rolled his eyes, "Your promise. Food."

Obi-Wan grinned, "Oh, I see, that promise. Yes, I'll make you some food now," he rose to his feet, watching Anakin attempt to clamber onto one of the chairs before simply lifting him up onto the seat. The boy huffed in annoyance when he found he was barely able to see over the table top. He scowled at Obi-Wan, unimpressed by how his master found the situation amusing to him, "'s not funny, Master," he grumbled at him.

"I'm not laughing at you, padawan," Obi-Wan assured him gently, lifting up Anakin to slide cushions underneath him.

"It's not my fault I'm small," Anakin protested, looking much more satisfied to find his place elevated.

"No," Obi-Wan agreed, "It's not."

Obi-Wan found Anakin was very easy to entertain. He watched him make their lunch with fascination, despite the simplicity of what he was actually doing. Perhaps it was the mere fact that he was hungry or that he was simply happy to be in his master's presence after being parted from him for so long. The Jedi knew that days could span on for ages for children. It must have seemed like weeks to Anakin since he had last seen his master.

He smiled brightly as the food was placed in front of him, nodding at the reminder to eat slowly. Obi-Wan rolled up the long sleeves, making sure they didn't get in his padawan's food before starting on his own food, quite hungry himself. Padawan and master ate in comfortable silence, intersected with the Jed pulling up Anakin's too long sleeves around his elbows. He watched him eat, frowning a little. It was only in the light of day that Obi-Wan could see just how dirty his padawan was. When was the last time the boy had washed? It had been days since he had been missing...

When Anakin declared himself finished, Obi-Wan rose to his feet and lifted Anakin up into his arms, balancing him on his hip and thus saving him the trouble from falling all over the place, "Come, I think you it's time you had a bath," he chuckled a little as the boy's eyes widened at this exciting piece of news. Coming from a desert planet, water had always been a privilege, never a commodity. So baths and showers for his padawan was something of a magical experience, a feeling which was apparently heightened by his recent change in age.

"Okay!" Anakin chirruped, a wide grin now on his face.

Whilst the bath was running, Anakin stood at the edge of the bath on tiptoes, small hands gripping the edge as he peered into the tub, watching as the cascading water slowly filled it up. When it was done, he turned to Obi-Wan, lifting up his arms expectantly. Of course, the tunic was so big it was always in danger of sliding off his shoulders anyway, but he bowed to his padawan's whims this time and pulled off the tunic and lifted him up and into the bath. Judging by the look on Anakin's face as he sat in the water, Obi-Wan could leave him there for hours if he wanted to and the padawan would still be as happy as he was now. He just sat there, smiling up at his master, as though he was given the best present in the world.

Obi-Wan smiled down at him, only he saw something that made his smile falter. He saw something that made him feel sick, that made the colour drain from his face. He was staring at Anakin's back, eyes fixed there. He froze. He couldn't see his padawan's smile any more. All he could see were scars rupturing the skin on the youngling's back. They looked old, though how such scars could be old on such a young child's back was something that was beyond comprehension. He had seen them before, so much fainter then, easier to hide, easier to ignore, easier to avoid the awkward and painful conversation that would doubtless follow, easier to convince himself that Anakin was fine, that he was okay, because at the time, Obi-Wan himself was so very, very far from okay. He never brought up how Anakin flinched whenever he told him off, how he always tried to make a little distance between himself and his master whenever he was angry with him. By the time they would have felt comfortable enough with each other to address such an issue, both felt that it was too late and it would be too awkward, bringing up things that Obi-Wan would prefer to pretend didn't matter and that Anakin wished never happened.

Guilt rose up in him. He felt sick. He was actually scared of vomiting and he had to put a hand over his mouth just to be safe. How could have ignored it? How could he have just let something as horrific as this slide? What was wrong with him?

"Master?" His gaze snapped back to Anakin's face, who was frowning at him, clearly concerned, "What's wrong?"

Obi-Wan sucked in a shaky breath and forced a smile, "Nothing, padawan," he ran a hand through his soft hair, blinking rapidly, "nothing at all."

Anakin was never a fool. The Jedi knew he wasn't convinced, but perhaps the youngling guessed that maybe it was something best left alone if his master was willing to lie about it. Soon, he was smiling again, making small waves with his palm as his master washed his hair, not feeling tremors running through his hands, not noticing how Obi-Wan's gaze constantly returned to his back. Despite all of the poisonous feelings that were burning a hole through Obi-Wan's gut, he couldn't not steal a smile when he heard his padawan's giggles as he rubbed off all the dirt and grime from him, especially round his face and neck.

By the time he was done, the water was a milky white from the shampoo and Anakin's hair was sticking up in small tufts all over the place, the boy grinning at Obi-Wan. He groaned as he saw his master reach for a towel.

"No!" he whined, "I want more time!"

"Anakin, the water's nearly cold!" Obi-Wan said, smiling fondly, "you'll have another bath tomorrow, I promise."

Anakin sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win and reached his arms up, waiting for his master to lift him out of the bath. Obi-Wan couldn't help but take special care in drying his padawan, the image of the scars still seared into his mind. He accidentally ran a hand over the youngling's back and had to repress a shudder.

Soon, Anakin was fully dressed in new clothes he seemed rather pleased with, his hair still messy and damp. Obi-Wan was about to stand up before he felt a hand pulling him back down. A small fist was tugging at the front of his robes. It's owner had a face of seriousness unsuited for someone so young. He sat back down again, surprised when Anakin climbed onto his lap, stood and wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan's neck. He wrapped his own arms back in return, confused as to why his padawan seemed so serious about this embrace until he heard a small voice in his ear.

"It's okay."

He stiffened, frozen, but the voice continued, a small hand in his hair now, "It's okay, Master. Don't be sad. Please. It's okay."

Anakin was trying to comfort him. He noticed him looking at his back, at his scars and he was trying to comfort him,_ him_, when he was the one who had neglected the issue for so long, when he was the one who had brushed it off. It didn't matter that at the time Qui-Gon had died. It didn't feel like that was a good enough excuse to ignore such abuse. And Anakin was trying to comfort him, this small boy, trying to make up for a mistake that wasn't his.

Obi-Wan brushed away the wetness on his cheeks, sniffing a little. He squeezed his padawan tightly, burying his face against him, "I'm sorry, Anakin. I've let you down."

"No!" Anakin pulled out of the hug, placing both palms on Obi-Wan's face, gazing into his eyes with such seriousness, "Don't be stupid! Don't be sorry," he pouted a little, sadness seeping into his gaze, "please don't be sorry. Don't be sad, Obi-Wan, please," gently, he wiped away the few stray tears, checking his eyes for any more, "don't be sad. Ever."

Obi-Wan managed to smile a little, "Not ever, padawan? Not even a little?"

Anakin thought for a minute, "Okay. But only sometimes. Not all the time."

"No," Obi-Wan murmured, running a hand through his hair, his smile growing a little. He leaned up slightly to press a kiss against this precious child, the boy who would always try to fix things even when they were beyond repair, "No. Not all the time."


	4. The Bond of Padawans and Masters

Hi guys! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I really struggled with it and had to rewrite it a few times, so feedback is doubly appreciated! The shed load of coursework I've got has not helped me writing this chapter in the slightest! It also means that chapters maybe a bit slower in coming, but hopefully, they won't be too long.

little kitsune- thank you for the review!

Pam- Thank you so much for your support! Yes, I think Obi-Wan will be forced to see a great amount of things in another light, though I don't think that means he's going to like it.

smile888- Merci encore pour un autre avis! J'apprécie vraiment les évaluations :3 PS Je pensais que ce serait plus poli de répondre dans votre langue pour le moment

Disclaimers: Still not George I'm afraid.

* * *

Obi-Wan stopped for the third time since they had started down the long corridor. He looked back, waiting for his feet-dragging padawan to come to catch up. Anakin wore a face of moody reluctance as he made his painfully slow way to his master's side.

"Come on," the Jedi said, nodding at their path, "walking slower won't put off the inevitable, padawan."

Anakin glared at him; knowing that Obi-Wan was right in any argument they had made him all the more angry. Though they weren't actually fighting, that same logic still applied: Anakin did not like being bested by anyone, not even his master.

"It will be all right, padawan," he assured him, having to bend down a little to pat his shoulder, "you aren't in trouble, the Council merely want to ask you a few questions."

"More like terror me," he grumbled.

"Terror you?" Obi-Wan asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

Anakin sighed in exasperation, "Yes!"

Terror him? They weren't going to terrorise him if that was what he was thinking... "Oh, you mean interrogate!" he said in realisation.

Anakin rolled his eyes, "'s what I said," his eyes grew wide to hear a low chuckle coming from his Master, "'s'not funny!" he cried, hitting the Jedi's shin hard, though it hurt him more than it hurt Obi-Wan.

"I know, I know," the Jedi's expression lost its mirth and he crouched down in front of his insulted padawan, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, Anakin," the boy huffed and looked away from his master; clearly he didn't appreciate the sentiment, "I'm not laughing at you-"

"Are too!" Anakin exclaimed, arms moving to hit Obi-Wan again, only for his hands to be engulfed by his master's own, much larger palms. He growled in frustration and tried to wrench them free, but the Jedi barely had to tighten his grip and they were trapped.

"I'm not laughing at you," he repeated calmly, "rather at what you say."

"Same thing!" Anakin snarled, tugging hard at the giant hands holding him prisoner

"No, it isn't," he murmured gently, "I'm not laughing at your predicament, Anakin, really, I'm not. But sometimes what you say, it's..."

Anakin stared at him with wary curiosity, "It's what?"

Obi-Wan paused, trying to think of a way to put how he felt in unoffensive terms, only to find he he couldn't do it. There was no other way to explain it, "It's sweet."

It was incredibly hard not to laugh at the look of disgust his padawan had on his face. He actually moved back a little, repulsed, "I'm not sweet!"

"Well," Obi-Wan's cheeks grew a little brighter in colour, but still, he smiled a little all the same, "you are and you're not. You're certainly not when you have a tantrum-"

"Don't have tantrums!" Anakin hissed.

"But," Obi-Wan continued, ignoring his padawan's interruption, "at other times... you're very sweet. Without meaning to be," Anakin stared at his master as though he had lost his mind and to be fair, he didn't blame him all that much. He cleared his throat, "to me you are, any way."

"I'm... I'm a terror!" Anakin cried, sounding rather aghast at being described as something so nice, "I'm... I'm not... _that_!"

The Jedi chuckled again, "Yes, you can be a terror, but at other times you're not," he shrugged, "it's... you'll understand one day when you get a padawan of your own."

"Is it a grown up thing?" Anakin asked, wrinkling his nose.

"More of a master thing, really," Obi-Wan said, "I see you in a way that you can't. I have a different perspective of you and so I will see things in you that you cannot see yourself."

Anakin stared at him for a moment, before saying slowly, "So... is it the same with me for you?"

Obi-Wan nodded, "That's right. You see me in a very different way to how I and others see myself. For example, most see me as a respected Jedi knight, but you see me as-"

"My master," Anakin cut in.

The Jedi smiled, "Yes. Precisely," he let go of the tiny hands and rose to his feet, "Come," he said gently, "we're late enough as it is."

Anakin paused, head tilted in thought of what his master had just told him. Then he grabbed Obi-Wan's hand and started towards the council room. Neither Jedi nor padawan thought anything of it.

...

Obi-Wan wished his padawan didn't have to wear such a such a displeased scowl on his countenance. No, it was never nice to be scrutinized and he knew that. He also knew that Anakin had never liked the council, especially seeing as the only time he ever saw them when growing up was to be told off. It didn't matter that he wasn't being chastised now- the resentment was there. Obi-Wan could feel it and Windu could too, judging by the stern frown he had on his face. Or did he merely have that look on all the time? Force, he was beginning to sound like Anakin.

"We analysed the blood," Windu said after a moment, raising his gaze from the moody padawan to the master, "what you told us was right; this is Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin crossed his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes, as if to say, "I could have told you that!"

"But there are some more tests we would like to perform," Windu continued, eyes narrowing a little at Anakin's defensive posture.

Obi-Wan nodded, "What sort of tests?" he asked, sending waves of disapproval through their bond, trying to warn his padawan against being so rude. As expected, Anakin ignored him.

"His abilities with the Force, medichlorian count, his memory-"

"I remember fine!" Anakin snapped, tired of being talked about as though he wasn't in the room, "Remember you!" he spat at Windu, sounding as though he deeply wished he didn't.

"Padawan!" Obi-Wan admonished, shooting the youngling a glare.

"Yes," Windu said after a pause, clearly a little taken aback by Anakin's outburst, "that is exactly why we want to perform the tests. It's very curious that you could have gone through such a drastic change with all of your memories entirely intact. Which brings us to why you're here, Anakin," he leant forward a little, leaning his elbows on his knees, "how exactly did this happen to you?"

Anakin blinked. All the attention was on him again and suddenly he looked as though he preferred to be talked about instead of talked to, "It's hard," he said, after a moments thought, "my... leg, my rib and here," he pointed to his collarbone, "were broken. Made my thoughts go all fuzzy."

"Do you remember how long you were there for until this happened?" Obi-Wan asked, his exterior calm, but his insides churning a little at thought of his padawan being broken in so many places.

Anakin shook his head, "They kept giving me funny stuff. It made my head go all fuzzy."

"Anakin, by 'funny stuff', do you mean they gave you drugs?" Obi-Wan asked, thinking it was best to help translate what his padawan actually meant to the Council.

The youngling nodded, "I couldn't move anything, not even with my mind. I could still feel stuff though."

Obi-Wan caught the confused looks on the council members faces and he looked down at his padawan, who was frowning, evidently wondering why nobody understood what he was saying. "So... they didn't allow you to use the Force," he guessed, "they put some sort of binders on you, but you could still access it with your mind."

Anakin nodded, "It's how I knew he was there. Didn't say anything and he was trying to hide from me, but it didn't work."

Obi-Wan's brow furrowed, "Who, Anakin?"

The youngling gazed up at the Jedi, tilting his head. Clearly he didn't realise that he hadn't mentioned this person before, "The Sith."

The boy flinched at the small gasps and murmured and reverberated round the room. His blue eyes turned up to Obi-Wan again, clearly worried that he'd said something wrong. Kenobi himself found it difficult to hide his surprise from his padawan, "You felt the presence of a Sith?" he asked, trying to keep the shock out of his voice.

Anakin nodded, as though it was entirely normal to feel a Siths presence, almost as though he ran into them on a daily basis.

"Sure of this, are you, young one?" Anakin turned at Yoda's voice to find the Jedi Master peering at him. He had always had a way of making Anakin feel transparent, as though he could see right through to his soul without even trying and he instinctively pressed himself up against his master's shins.

"I'm sure," despite his nervousness, his reply didn't waver and Obi-Wan knew that Anakin would never make such a claim without knowing for certain, even being as young as he was, "he felt... he felt like Dooku, but different too. More... stronger."

"Powerful?"

"'S what I said."

"Is he the one who changed you? Did he do this," Windu gestured with a hand at the youngling, "through the Force?"

Anakin paused, "Well... he did_ something_, but I don't know..." he frowned down at the floor, "not to me, but did something to wires. There were loads and they put them all in me," a frown cross his young face.

"What did he do to the wires, padawan?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Made them burn."

There was a pause, the silence, though short, held thick in the air. Anakin pressed himself even further up against his master's legs, sensing the sudden change in atmosphere and not at all understanding why. He didn't know that his small whisper had pierced every chest in the room, that they'd seen a flash of haunted pain pass momentarily across his young face and a chill rush of fear douse their senses. Not even Jedi could be unfeeling at the thought of a youngling burning.

"Do you know what the wires were attached to, padawan?"

Anakin looked up, concern and worry rushing through their bond as his eyes met his master's. The Jedi looked paler and though he still looked calm, his brow was knitted just a little, the corners of his mouth just a little tighter. Small things, insignificant things, except to those who knew how to look for it. He gazed at his master for a moment, before coming to the conclusion that his master was trying to hide how he felt and that he probably wouldn't appreciate Anakin checking he was all right in front of everyone. So, he answered:

"Like... A bacta tank. But... bigger and loads of colours. And they were all swirling round and stuff when it started to work."

"And when it did work," Windu started, "it hurt?"

Anakin paused, "Well... at first, yeah. But it didn't last very long. I think I fell asleep and then I woke up."

"And then...?"

Anakin didn't answer Windu's prompt. He stared at the floor, silent, now pressed so far back against his master's legs he was practically standing on his feet.

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, gently. Anakin didn't look up and shook his head, "Padawan," his master's voice was soft, "whatever happened you can say. You won't be reprimanded."

Anakin finally turned round, gazing up at his master with a frown of worry painted upon his brow, "Didn't mean to," he said, his quiet voice plaintive, "but... they were gonna take me away and..." his gaze fell back to the floor, "everything exploded."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows rose in realisation. Anakin had lost control again. He was terrified out of his wits and that was more than understandable; he had woken up in a entirely new body, utterly vulnerable to surrounding enemies trying to steal him away forever, for all he knew. It was no wonder he lashed out. He was scared to tell the council, his memories still clearly full of Jedi teachings on emotions, even if he couldn't follow them, "You mean," he supplied softly, "_you_ made everything explode."

"Didn't mean to!" Anakin cried, defensive, staring up at his master, aghast to find he had lost his only ally, "i-it just happened! I couldn't help it! They were hurting me!"

"Padawan, no one is blaming you," he reassured him gently, "you were scared-"

"'sactly!" Anakin yelped, "I touched the Dark Side!"

"No, Anakin, you didn't," the Jedi said, quietly. It was as though it was just them and no one else in the room, as though the council were a mere audience to theatre, "using the Force through your fear now is not the same as doing so when you were older."

Anakin scowled horribly and with little wonder. Ever since he was nine he had been told to avoid feeling fear and now all of a sudden it was all right? No, his padawan would not likely stand for that, "Is so!" he declared haughtily.

"No, it isn't," Obi-Wan sighed, "Anakin, you didn't know what you were doing. You acted on instinct and emotion, as anybody in your situation would have. You're a child," the boy huffed and brought himself up to full height as though to say otherwise, "and... you're not a Jedi."

The Jedi winced as blue eyes blazed and a shrill, "I am so!" reverberated around the room.

"No," he said, resolute as ever, "you're not. Not yet. You may be my padawan, but at this moment in time, that title and all that comes with it is suspended. You're a child, you were frightened and you tried to defend yourself, as anyone else would, Jedi or not. Only you did it with the Force," it may not be what Anakin wanted to hear, but whether he liked it or not, it was still the truth. The boy may be able to remember his lessons, but as far as Obi-Wan was concerned, he couldn't practise them in this state, nor would it be fair to expect him to do so. He was _three_. He was a child. Yes, he knew that it was more complicated than that, but they couldn't expect the same things of him as they used to, not him, not the Council, not even Anakin could.

He could feel the insult radiating from his padawan, but he knew that he was in the right. Besides, now wasn't really the time to have this conversation. "How powerful was this explosion, Anakin?" he asked, wanting to steer the conversation back to why they were originally here.

The youngling was still glowering, but he could sense the undercurrent of firmness in his master's voice which indicated to him that it would in his best interests to answer. He glared and huffed and sighed, but he replied all the same, "Everything crashed," he murmured, "everyone flew and they didn't get up. Least I don't think so. Then I ran."

"How did you manage to evade capture for so long," one council member asked.

"Went through the walls," Anakin said, shrugging.

"Ventilation shafts?" Obi-Wan asked, sounding mildly impressed.

Anakin nodded, "'S what I meant."

"Surely the Sith could have found you though?" Windu inquired.

"No, he wasn't there."

Windu frowned, "Are you sure?"

Anakin mirrored the Jedi Master, his glare intensifying. Obi-Wan could sense that this meeting was trying his padawan's patience and he was reaching the end of his tether. Really, for a youngling who was still catching up on five days proper sleep and who had a temper as volatile as his, he was surprised that the meeting had lasted so far without a more violent outburst, "Yeah," he said, dragged out the word as though speaking to someone rather slow, "could've sensed him if he was there," his rudeness was ignored, as shared frowns and murmurs filled the room. The boy tilted his head in thought, not understanding why the council found this news so interesting. He didn't see how curious it was that a Sith would leave when he could so easily track down the youngling and as powerful as Anakin was (powerful enough to knock a Sith senseless), he didn't have any control over that power. He'd be no match against someone so well trained in the Dark Side of the Force.

Wndu looked at the child a moment more, before seemingly coming to a decision, "I think you have told us all that you can. Now, if you would excuse us for a few minutes. I would like to speak to your master in private."

Anakin's nose wrinkled in distaste. He didn't particularly enjoy being dismissed, "Why?" he demanded, folding his arms across his chest.

"Padawan," the boy looked up at his master's voice, "please could you wait outside for me? I'm sure it won't be long," Anakin tilted his head up, the look on his face showing that he still wasn't impressed with being dismissed. Still, his master's voice voice was soft, not demanding and it sounded more like a gentle request than a direct order. He sighed dramatically and made his way out of the room.

Once out of the room, Yoda began. "Obi-Wan. Telling the truth about the Sith, Anakin is, hm? Believe him you do?"

"He wouldn't lie about such a thing, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan answered, "although he's a child, he still has his adult memories. He still understands the importance of those implications."

Yoda nodded, peering thoughtfully at Obi-Wan, "Very interesting this is, for his memory to be kept. Still a youngling he is?"

Obi-Wan took this as a cue for some elaboration, "It's... It's odd, Master Yoda. He knows me, he remembers who he is, what happened. But he is still a child. It's as though the adult Anakin is now seeing everything through a youngling's eyes. He's very childish, he does things I know he wouldn't do when older, yet still... at times he shows a level of maturity that a normal youngling wouldn't. A great many things have changed in him, but a lot have stayed the same."

Yoda was silent for a moment, evidently thinking, "Seen, have you, his skills with the Force?"

Ah, yes. Obi-Wan suspected they would get back to this. The Jedi Council, he knew, had been wary of Anakin's power, his tendency to volatile emotions making his padawan a viable danger; now that he was so young, his emotions would be ten times harder to keep in check, but that wasn't his fault.

"Skills aren't the term I would use to describe his powers, Master Yoda," he answered delicately. He could feel Anakin's reluctance when it came to divulging the incidents he had had involving the Force. Still, the Council needed to know, whether he liked it or not, "yes, I have seen what he can do. He managed to throw me, himself and twenty droids with an incredible amount of force. But like the previous time, it was out of his control. He was terrified," Obi-Wan wanted so badly to make it clear that it wasn't Anakin's fault, that he simply couldn't help lashing out with the Force.

"Do you think he could be dangerous?" Windu asked, raising an eyebrow. Obi-Wan could hear the suspicion in his voice, finding that it irked him, even though he knew that it shouldn't. It was reasonable to suspect a possibility of his padawan being a possible danger to those around him, yet still, a swell of protectiveness flared up within him that should not have been so strong.

"No. I don't," he noted the look on the Jedi's face and continued, "I think Anakin can only access his powers under extreme duress. That is the only time I could tell he could even access the Force. Before and after that there were no signs he was even a Force sensitive."

Windu held Obi-Wan's gaze with a steady eye, "Are you sure you aren't biased in the matter?"

"If I thought Anakin was a danger to himself or anyone else, I assure you I would tell you," Obi-Wan said, his voice firm, eyes smouldering with a certain kind of fire, "The only risk of Anakin being a danger to anyone is if his life is threatened. And I have no intention for allowing such incidents to occur again."

...

When Obi-Wan stepped out of the Council room, he found his padawan with his feet up against the wall in a handstand. The Council members stared. Obi-Wan merely smiled. He went up to him, tapping the soles of his small boots. The boy toppled gracelessly onto the floor, shaking his head before looking up at his master.

"Going?"

The Jedi nodded, "Yes, Anakin, we're going now."

With a loud "yes!" of triumph, he scrambled to his feet and made his way off down the hall.

Obi-Wan sighed, "Padawan," he called after him, going at a much slower pace, "slow down please. You're going to-" he was cut off by a thud as the youngling fell face first onto the floor, "do that." Anakin allowed Obi-Wan to help him back up onto his feet, fussing hands brushing down his robes, checking for injuries. He rose to his feet again, shaking his head at the small boy before him, "You're not as coordinated as you once were, Anakin," he chided gently, "you need to remember take things a little bit slower than usual."

"'m fine," Anakin insisted, smiling widely as though to prove his point.

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed, a smile of his own flitting about the corners of his mouth, "but some time you might fall and actually hurt yourself and that isn't what we want."

He took the small boys' hand in his and they started off down the corridor. Anakin stayed silent for a moment, but as was always the case with him, it didn't last for very long.

"Master?"

"Yes, Anakin?"

"You said I wasn't a padawan."

Obi-Wan looked down at him, "Well, I didn't mean-"

"If I'm not a padawan, how come you call me one?"

"Because," Obi-Wan smiled a little, "you are still _my_ padawan. You're not a padawan now in the sense that your training to be a Jedi has been suspended."

"Want to be a Jedi," Anakin protested, frowning a little.

"And you will be," the Jedi assured him, "I just can't teach you right now."

"Why not?"

Obi-Wan sighed, "Because, Anakin..." he came to a halt, looking at the youngling before him, "you're a child now. And the level of training you were at can't be taught to you now, not when you're so young. Don't give me that look," there was amusement in his voice as he watched the boy scowl up at him, "padawan, if I gave you your lightsaber, you would be half its size!"

"Still want to train," Anakin grumbled.

"Think of it as a holiday. You always say I work you too hard."

"Do," Anakin concurred, taking up Obi-Wan's hand again, "but still want to train."

"All in good time, Anakin," Obi-Wan soothed, "think of it as a training in patience," he couldn't help but laugh at the look Anakin pulled at his words, "all right then, see it as time you and I can spend together. Does that sound better?" the youngling looked up at his master and beamed. A gentle smile of his own graced Obi-Wan's features and he gave the tiny hand a squeeze.

...

Master Windu and Yoda looked out at the master and padawan. Windu frowned after them; Yoda merely looked contemplative, almost smiling himself.

"I always knew Skywalker was too attached to Obi-Wan," Windu said after a time, "but now I fear his master is beginning to feel the same way."

"Felt it, Obi-Wan always has," Yoda replied simply, "but hide it, no longer he can."

"Perhaps we should seperate them?" Windu suggested, "put Skywalker in the crèche?"

Yoda shook his head, "Anakin Skywalker, still he is. Remembers his master. If in the crèche we place him, understand he would not. Allow it, Obi-Wan would not. Strong is their bond," he looked up at Windu, conviction etched into every line of his face, "break them apart, you cannot."

Windu sighed. As usual, he was right, "No," he said, looking down the corridor again, watching them smile at each other, entirely oblivious to anyone and everyone around them, "I don't think anyone could."


	5. The Issue of Being the Chosen One

Hi guys! I hope you enjoy, as always feedback is appreciated ^^

_Guest_- Thank you for reviewing!

Disclaimers: Still not George Lucas, or Disney, now that I think about it.

* * *

Whenever Anakin had seen his master sleep, he had always found it amusing and slightly comforting to know that even the most dignified of great Jedi Masters could be graceless, even if it was only in sleep. And graceless Obi-Wan was. He lay sprawled in bed, mouth slightly agape, an arm draped across his eyes to to guard them against the weak sunlight shining through the thin curtains.

That was how Anakin found him, though it didn't amuse him the way it did when he was older. Now, he merely smiled because, well, it was his master and his master meant a lot of things to Anakin, emotions and images that were ten times more complex when he was older, but were now simplified. He meant food and baths, homework, safety, scoldings and hugs, boring meditation, disapproving glances and sunshine smiles, calm words, kindness and love. Pure, unadulterated love, above all of the others.

Of course, he knew his master didn't quite understand love, which was a bit weird, but it wasn't his fault really. Obi-Wan did love him deep down, he just couldn't say it like Anakin could. It was all right though. He was teaching his master about stuff like that and some of his lessons did manage to get through, but his master was a bit slow when it came to things like love and hugs (which had been hard to teach) and feelings, so it would take time. He'd get there in the end.

After watching the calming rise and fall of his master's chest for a minute or two, Anakin made his way to the bed, clambering up onto it. It was a harder feat than he remembered, but he managed to scramble up on the mattress. Crawling on all hands and fours, he made his way to Obi-Wan's chest, promptly sitting down on it. Ignoring the small grunt from the sleeping form, he began to pull at the arm on his master's face.

Obi-Wan didn't quite realise he was awake; he was in that funny place where sleep and dreams and reality all melded into one confusing blur. So it was only instinct that when he felt tiny, grappling hands at his arm that he brushed them off. He groaned as the hands returned; he wanted sleep! What did those blasted hands want? He felt annoyance shoot through their bond and he realised, then, that he was awake.

Obi-Wan pulled away his arm, opening his eyes to see Anakin sitting happily on his chest, a smile on his face, "Hi."

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan murmured, words slurred with sleep. Frowning, he glanced at his clock and groaned, "Padawan, it is half four in the morning."

Anakin glanced at the clock and shrugged, "Bored."

"You need as much sleep as you can," Obi-Wan said, sitting up a little and repressing a yawn, "we have a long day ahead of us and you're sleep deprived. You need to go back to bed."

The youngling shook his head, "Can get back to sleep."

The Jedi scrubbed his face with a palm, sighing, "Have you even tried?"

"Yes!" Anakin said, frowning.

Obi-Wan's eyelids were drooping and instinctively, without thought, he rolled over onto his front, earning a surprised squeak from his padawan. "Master!" the boy cried indignantly, crawling onto his back after nearly being crushed by him, "Can't sleeeeeep."

The Jedi moaned into his pillow, "Oh Anakin, please don't whine at me."

"Not whining," the boy clambered off his back (the child seemingly thinking that Obi-Wan was merely part of the mattress the way he dug his small feet into his spine) and pulled at Obi-Wan's arm again, "Can't sleep, Master. 'm bored."

The Jedi opened one eye. Anakin was and always had been the master at pouting; Obi-Wan was sure he could make even the coldest heart thaw with the look on that face. He sighed, sitting up and allowing himself to hide his face in his hands, before pulling them away to look at his ever expectant padawan.

"Come on, then," he murmured. He pulled away the bed sheets from the bed, wrapping them around his shoulders before picking up Anakin, an action fast becoming instinct. Obi-Wan stumbled into the living room, grimacing at the chill air and wishing that he was in his warm bed that now seemed all the more inviting. But as was always the case, padawans came first.

The Jedi practically collapsed in the chair in the corner of the living room; it was the rocking chair, one which Anakin hadn't been in since he was eleven as he was thenceforth banned from it for rocking it right off the floor. It was something he had always associated with Qui-Gon, who would often sit there in a pensive mood, rocking back and forth, almost his own private sort of meditation.

Obi-Wan gathered the sheets around them, his padawan tucked against his chest as the bedclothes, not yet lost their warmth, were wrapped around them both. With one foot, Obi-Wan began to rock them back and forth, back and forth. A hand lazily stroked Anakin's soft hair. He glanced down at the boy, who was beginning to look drowsy already.

The Jedi smiled sleepily, "Sleep now, Anakin," he murmured, eyes closing. The padawan watched for a moment, before following his master, head lolling against his chest. The sound of his Obi-Wan's heart beat, the steady rise and fall of his chest and the easy back and forth rocking of the chair all mixed together into one harmonious, songless lullaby, easing the boy into a well needed slumber. Eventually, the chair stopped rocking, though now both padawan and past were asleep, the quiet hush of their home broken only by the tiny snuffles of Anakin, muffled by his master's pyjamas and the deep, soft breathing of Obi-Wan.

...

It was half eleven when Obi-Wan woke up. He grimaced as he sat up a little, his entire body stiff from sleeping in so awkward a position. Still, the trick had clearly done Anakin wonders seeing as he was still snoozing peacefully in his lap. Carefully, wincing as back clicked into place, he slowly rose to his feet, the bedclothes still hanging on his shoulders. He carried the boy over the sofa, wrapping him up in the sheets and gently placing him down. Anakin didn't notice. He rolled over, hiding his face against a cushion, completely oblivious to all around him. By the time Obi-Wan had returned from a shower and breakfast, Anakin still hadn't moved an inch. It wasn't really surprising; the boy had had a trying week to say the least and it was no wonder he was exhausted.

He eased himself down next to the youngling, careful not to wake him and started to read. It took Anakin an hour to wake up and even that was a slow process. He crawled out of his cocoon of sheets onto his master's lap, draping himself across his legs with a dramatic groan of exhaustion, too tired to even bother sitting up.

"Good afternoon to you too," Obi-Wan smiled, amusement glinting in his eyes. He sat him up on his lap, arm wrapped round the small boy's middle. Together, they watched the news on the holovid, the Jedi paying more attention than the sleepy youngling, who was rubbing at his bleary eyes with small fists.

"Mas'er?" The Jedi looked down at his name, the words slurred slightly with tiredness, "'m hungry."

"I am not surprised. You haven't eaten since seven o'clock yesterday and it's one o'clock now," he watched his padawan frown in thought and beginning to slowly count off his fingers, "that's eighteen hours, padawan."

He grinned as he watched Anakin's blue eyes grow round with realisation and he turned to his master, "How 'm I alive?!" he squeaked, incredulous as to how he could have lasted so long without food.

"You slept through it. You have simply been too tired to be hungry," Obi-Wan chuckled as his reply made those blue orbs go impossibly wider, "you needed that sleep, Force only knows how much you got in this week."

Anakin was clearly still a little shocked at this alarming news because he didn't react as his master lifted him up and went into the kitchen. He sat his padawan down at the table and began to make lunch. After a minute or so he felt a small tug at his leggings and he looked down to see Anakin staring up at him, "I'm going to help," he declared.

Obi-Wan blinked, "Oh. All right, you can lay the table."

Anakin nodded and headed over to the cupboard, staring up at his challenge. The Jedi didn't look round till he heard a frustrated grunt and he saw the boy trying valiantly to climb onto the counter, his top half slumped over the worktop, legs kicking frantically to try and get some leverage, "Get a chair, padawan," Obi-Wan sighed, going over and pulling his padawan off the counter and back onto the floor.

Anakin huffed, affronted, "Can do it!"

"No, you can't," Obi-Wan said, raising his eyebrows and folding his arms across his chest in his "I'm-your-master-and-I-know-better-than-you" way, "get a chair or you're not going to help at all."

Anakin shot his master a glare, but he knew he wasn't going to win, so he did as he was told, pushing a chair to the counter and clambering up on it. Carefully, he began to lift the plates down; his master grateful that he was at least taking care of them, though he'd much prefer his padawan to take more care of himself.

"Master?" he asked, almost lying down to avoid hitting his head as he shut the cupboard door, "What we gonna do today?"

"I have to take you to do some tests," Obi-Wan replied.

"Test?" Anakin frowned as he slowly climbed down off the chair with his arms full of plates, "What sort?"

"Well, they want to test your ability with the Force, your memory. I should imagine they'll want to take more blood and do a physical examination as well."

"You'll be there?"

The Jedi turned at the worry in his padawan's voice and smiled gently, "Yes, Anakin, I'll be there. I won't leave unless you want me to."

"Won't they tell you off?" Anakin asked, kneeling on a chair to set the plates down on the table.

"I doubt it," the Jedi said lightly, "but if you want me to be there, then they can't stop me."

"Okay," Anakin chirruped, sounding relieved, "is it gonna be boring?"

"It very well may be, so it would do you well, padawan, to exercise as much patience as possible."

Anakin scowled at the tone of warning in his master's voice, "I am patient," he grumbled, climbing off the chair.

"Oh really?" Obi-Wan asked, turning round and raising his eyebrows, "is this coming from the boy who was so impatient to get home from a mission that he nearly crash landed the ship?"

Anakin's face turned red and he snapped, "Didn't crash it!"

"No, but you landed it badly enough for me to get a bloody nose, if you recall," his master said, looking down at his padawan with an unimpressed look on his face, "and for you to give yourself a concussion!"

"Wasn't a concussion!" Anakin protested.

"I don't believe that's what Healer Janu said," his master retorted.

"Didn't get concussion," he growled, "just a stupid headache."

"So, the fact that you couldn't walk in a straight line for an hour had nothing to do with your head injury?" Obi-Wan asked, smirking.

"No!" Anakin snapped, "it just... stop teasing me!" he glared at his master as the man began to laugh.

"I'm sorry, Anakin, but it was amusing to watch you stumble around for a hour good or so," he grinned, "come, don't I deserve any recompense for my almost broken nose?"

"No," Anakin said obstinately, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Padawan, you aren't kind to me at all, you know," Obi-Wan chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're not nice either!" the youngling protested.

"Oh?" Obi-Wan shrugged and turned from Anakin, "well then, if I'm so cruel then I don't suppose I'll make you your lunch."

Anakin's eyes widened and he rushed to his master's side, "Hey- no, I didn't mean it!"

He turned his face from Anakin, mostly to hide his grin, "Oh no, padawan," he said, in mock hurt, "you've hurt me far too much this time. Because of what you said, I am going to be even more cruel than usual."

"No!" Anakin whined, pulling at his robes, "didn't mean it really," he slumped against Obi-Wan's legs, looking up at his master, "you are nice, Master," he mumbled plaintively, "honest." Obi-Wan smiled down at him and Anakin frowned, "You were teasing again, weren't you?"

"I'm afraid so," he ran a hand through the blond locks, ignoring the ugly scowl on his padawan's face, "it's nice to know you think so highly of me though."

Anakin glared up at him and huffed haughtily, "Tease me too much," he muttered quietly, heading to the table.

"It doesn't do you any harm," Obi-Wan said lightly.

"Does so!" Anakin argued, clambering up onto his chair and scowling up at his master.

"Oh really?" Obi-Wan asked, "would you care to explain how, Anakin?"

"It's annoying," Anakin murmured, frowning down at the food his master was laying out.

"That doesn't do you any harm though, does it?" The Jedi pointed out, smiling as he sat down.

"Makes me feel small," Anakin replied sulkily.

"You mean it bruises your ego," Obi-Wan corrected him, "everybody needs them to take them down a peg or two once in awhile, even you, my very young padawan. I certainly don't mean for it to hurt you, but I would know if it did. And I know that you know that I would never do it to truly offend you."

Anakin looked dissatisfied with this answer, irritated that his master was once again right. "You don't have anyone," he pointed out, stabbing his food rather viciously with a fork.

"I have you, don't I?" his master asked, a gentle smile gracing his features, "I think you've certainly teased me a number of times about a a lot of things I'd rather you didn't."

Anakin thought for a moment, "Okay," he conceded, "but you tease me more."

"I'm your master, Anakin. It's my job to tease you, among other things of course."

"What's my job then?" the youngling asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Your job?" Obi-Wan ate thoughtfully for a moment, "your job is to keep me worried. To annoy me, to wake me up at odd times in the night, to come to me when you're hurt," he caught the rather insulted and slightly hurt look on his padawan's face and he smiled kindly, "but... your job is also to make me smile. To make me laugh with all the silly and wonderful things that you do. To show me how wrong I can be and that even if you can't make something better, you should always try. And to remind me that even though I'm your teacher, I still have much to learn."

Anakin stared for a moment. Then, a huge smile grew on his face and Obi-Wan could feel the happiness shine through their bond like the sun, "I do a good job?"

"Yes, Anakan," Obi-Wan murmured, wondering how that great, beaming smile could grow any more on such a small face, "you do a wonderful job at being my padawan."

"And you're the best Master in the whole galaxy," Anakin said, sounding happy and absolutely resolved on the matter. Then a genuine look of worry crossed his face, "you know that, right?"

"I always knew you felt that way, Anakin," Obi-Wan said quietly.

Anakin frowned, "S'not the same. Do you _know_ it?"

Obi-Wan looked away for a moment. He thought back to the scars on the youngling's back, how often he had let him down, how he was letting him down even now. They shouldn't be this close. He was taking the rule he had tried so hard to teach and abide by and was grinding it into the dirt. He had taught him everything he possibly could in principle, but did he practise it? No. Not everything. No matter how much he denied it, he felt emotions, though he didn't embrace them as Anakin did, he still felt them just as strongly.

What they had wasn't just a bond of padawan and master, it was... the bond of brothers, of father and son. He hadn't, no, wasn't bringing the Chosen One up to be the Jedi that everybody expected. The Jedi he should be. He wasn't bringing him up to be a Jedi at all. He taught him everything a Jedi should know, but he had raised Anakin as his youngling, as his own. He was his child. And that was not fair to Anakin, a boy so eager and desperate to be loved, to hide all of this from him when Obi-Wan himself felt as he did, only to lecture him with cold platitudes about emotions; to tell him what he should be, even when his master wasn't it himself. That wasn't what good Jedi masters did.

"I'm afraid I don't, padawan," he replied, quietly.

Anakin seemed slightly taken aback by this. But the frown quickly returned, "Well you should. You're the best Master and Jedi ever. Even if you are silly."

Obi-Wan laughed at this, "That is a rather backhanded compliment, Anakin."

Anakin smiled at the man's laughter, though his words remained earnest, "'s true though. You're silly and I know you lie to me about stuff that you shouldn't. But you're still the best master ever. You're _my_ master."

"Is that reason enough, padawan?"

Anakin nodded with utmost seriousness, "Uh-huh. We're family. That's why you're the best," he carried on eating as though nothing had happened, only after about a minute to look up and see his master staring at him. He swallowed and asked tentatively, "Did I say something bad?"

"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan's smile was small and sad and he reached his arm over the table, cupping the small cheek in his rough palm. The action worried Anakin, because that usually mean he himself was upset, which he wasn't. Was his master upset? "No, you didn't say anything bad. I'm just... pensive, that's all."

"Pensive?"

"I'm thinking. That's all, padawan," Obi-Wan was lying again and he knew his padawan could see right through him. But his padawan knew that his master nearly always had a reason for lying, whether it was a good one or not.

He leant his cheek against his master's hand and sighed, "You are silly," he muttered, but there was more exasperation in his voice than any anger.

"I know, Anakin," Obi-Wan smiled a little, "you'll have to make a few allowances for your old master, I'm afraid. He still has much to learn."

"That's okay," Anakin said, brightening, "I'll teach you."

The Jedi chuckled a little, "I'm sure you will, Anakin."

"Already am," the boy proclaimed proudly.

"Oh? Have I learnt much?"

The youngling didn't pick up the tone of gentle amusement in his master's voice, "Some stuff. But you're getting better."

"That's good to know," Obi-Wan murmured, resisting the urge to chuckle.

Anakin nodded in earnest, "Uh-huh. You'll get there. You're just slow about some stuff."

Obi-Wan grinned, "Padawan, you know you cannot be this rude to people."

"I know," Anakin shrugged, "but you're not people. You're Obi-Wan."

The Jedi had to think about that statement for a moment, before smiling, "Yes. I suppose you're right."

...

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said with a sigh as he followed the small raging thing stomping down the corridor, "slow down." Force, with the look that boy gave him, he might as well as had a thundercloud hanging over his head. The boy paused only to shoot him a glare, before starting off down the corridor again. The Jedi resisted the urge to groan and followed on after him.

It had not been a good day.

The tests, in terms of Anakin's patience and general happiness had... well, if he described them as being disastrous then Obi-Wan wouldn't be exaggerating all that much. First off it took him a fair amount of time to convince the boy to take off his shirt to let them do the physical. It was understandable that his padawan didn't want everyone to see the scars all over his back, but there was simply nothing the Jedi could have done to help him. The look of utter betrayal the youngling had given him was like a hard blow to the gut. And then, almost straight after had to take blood from him. He had refused to hold Obi-Wan's hand, far too proud and annoyed with him to do so, even though Obi-Wan could see the boy's hands tremble slightly.

Though the Jedi hadn't thought it was possible, it only got worse from there. It was one trial after another, with no real time to give Anakin a break. By the time they had finished with testing his abilities with the Force, his speech, his memory and an array of intelligence tests, the youngling had had enough. He hadn't bothered waiting for his master, who was busy talking to the other Jedi about when they'd find out what the results meant and deemed it fit to storm out of the room. After a hurried apology, Obi-Wan rushed after him to find his padawan stomping on ahead.

Obi-Wan stepped in his padawan's way, making the boy nearly walk straight into him, "Padawan-"

"Get out!" Anakin cried, swinging his arm in a wild arc.

"Anakin, you need to calm down," Obi-Wan said, refusing to move. His arms were folded and he had an expression on his face of disapproval well known to the youngling. Anakin growled in frustration and tried to side step his master, only the for the man to crouch down in front of him and take his arm, "I know you're frustrated, but you cannot storm off-"

"'m not storming!" Anakin yelled, anger and irritation burning through their bond, "lemme go!"

"Yes, you are," Obi-Wan said firmly, ignoring the boy's attempts to pull his arm free, "and you need to calm down. Anakin, You do not walk away from me, it is rude and I don't know where you are when you do."

Anakin snarled, pulling all of his weight to try and get his arm free from the stupidly strong hand holding it. When it didn't budge, he let out a growling whine of frustration and simply collapsed on the floor.

The Jedi rolled his eyes, "Anakin," he said, "Get up."

"No!" Came the muffled reply from the floor.

"Padawan," Obi-Wan's voice became dangerously stern, "Get up now." Anakin looked up from the floor and simply glared. Obi-Wan shook his head in exasperation of Anakin. Force, the boys' tantrums were certainly never half hearted, "fine," he said, rising to his feet and lifting the small boy up with him. The Padawan started kick and struggle, something which didn't particularly surprise Obi-Wan. No matter how hard the boy wriggled and squirmed, the Jedi's arm easily held him to his chest. They were half way to their apartment when he let out a cry of pain. Anakin sunk his teeth into his arm like some feral child and was gnawing at it with a great amount of strength.

"Anakin!" The Jedi grabbed his ankle and managed to yank him off his arm. He held the boy up, raising his eyebrows as the wild thing he liked to call his padawan thrashed and snarled, his arms waving wildly. He stood there, holding this small upside down bundle of rage and flailing limbs. Obi-Wan simply waited, watching, unimpressed as Anakin roared and fought until, finally, he simply grew tired. The boy hung there panting and still glaring, yet completely defeated.

"Are you done?" the Jedi asked coolly.

Anakin glowered venomously at his master, but he remained silent.

"Good," Obi-Wan righted the padawan, his face red with anger and the blood rush to his head. The rest of their walk was in silence, with Anakin still held against his master's chest, arms crossed, face contorted into a sulky pout. As soon as the Jedi set him down on the floor of their apartment, Anakin immediately started for his room.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan remained ignored, "Anakin Skywalker!" Slowly, the boy turned. There was a moment where they both glared at one another, both of them practically feeling the battle of wills between them. He pointed to the space in front of him, "Here. _Now_."

The Jedi swore he could almost feel his padawan close to exploding, but the boy wasn't fool enough to ignore his master when talked to like that. Slowly, he made his way back to Obi-Wan, glowering down at the floor. Obi-Wan crouched in front of him once he had come to a stop, "Anakin. Why did you walk off?"

Anakin didn't answer for a moment, before mumbled, "You were slow."

"If you had told me you'd wanted to go, I would have."

"Wasn't going to get lost!" Anakin snapped, his eyes blazing.

"I don't care," Obi-Wan replied, "I don't care if you know exactly where you are, I still don't want you to walk off without me."

Anakin let out a groan of frustration, "'m not stupid! Know how to get home! You were being slow!"

"Padawan, calm down-"

"I can't!"

Obi-Wan flinched slightly as the boy practically screamed at him. He looked at the youngling, watching him heave and glare, small hands balled up into fists.

"Alright," he lifted up the boy again, much to his dissatisfaction and sat down on the couch, placing his padawan on his lap facing him, "now," he said, taking the small hands in his own, ignoring the growl that came with the action, and pressed them to his chest, "do as I do. Take a deep breath," he took a deep breath, noting the unimpressed look on his padawan's face and releasing his breath in an exasperated sigh, "Anakin. Copy me."

The boy rolled his eyes, but he did as he was told, taking a deep breath in like his master and releasing it slowly. In, out. In, out. Obi-Wan didn't know how long they sat there, taking the long measured breaths and releasing them. It was a slightly hypnotic motion, a sort of meditation. Like waves breaking on the shore, it was a constant, steady motion. He could feel Anakin's anger drain slowly from him, bit by bit, feeling his fists ease out into splayed hands against his chest, watched his shoulders sag, his breathing not so forced any more. He was calmer, but he still clearly upset about something. The youngling didn't look at his master, his eyes on his lap, looking more defeated than anything else. Obi-Wan had expected him to have calmed down, not to be miserable.

Finally, he came to a stop, releasing the hands, which fell to the boy's side. He wasn't entirely sure whether he preferred him angry or upset. "Anakin?" he asked gently, "why were you so angry. What's wrong?"

The youngling didn't reply for a moment, before he looked up. The Jedi was taken aback and slightly alarmed to see tears shining in his eyes, "I... I'm stupid."

Obi-Wan stared for a moment, "What?"

"I... I c-couldn't answer all the questions right a-and can't do things with the Force any more and can't read properly and-and," already the boy was getting breathless in his distraught state. Obi-Wan tried to speak, but Anakin wasn't stopping, "I-I couldn't get anything r-right, couldn't think, can't do anything right!" he hid his face in his hands and let out a heaving sob, "'m s-so stupid!"

Obi-Wan stared for a moment, simply too surprised to say anything, before he gently pulled away the hands covering his padawan's face. He tilted up his chin, forcing those tear-spilling eyes to look into his, "No, Anakin. You aren't stupid. I'm surprised you think that you are."

"'Meant to be easy!" Anakin wailed miserably, "c-can't do it though!"

Obi-Wan sighed and gave the youngling a small, rather sad smile, "Come here," he pulled the boy into his arms, feeling the small hands grab at his robes and Anakin burying his face against his chest, "that is what we expected, Anakin" he murmured softly, running his hand up and down the shaking back, "because of this change, you're bound to find certain things more difficult than you used to. You're a youngling. You aren't mean to find everything easy."

"B-but," Anakin looked up, sniffling, "'m the Chosen One. 'm s'posed to be the b-best."

A frown crossed Obi-Wan's face. There had always been the prophecy hanging over his padawan and because of it he was always expected to do better than everyone else, to aim higher, to achieve higher than all of his peers. It wasn't fair, to expect a child entirely new to this way of life to excel in it with no questions asked. It wasn't Anakin's fault he was born with the highest medichlorian count known to the Jedi. He couldn't help being the Chosen One.

"I don't care about what you're meant to be," he murmured, thumbing away a tear, "I don't care about the Chosen One. I care about you, about Anakin Skywalker. Not about all the expectations that come with that prophecy. It's okay that you can't read as well as you did, it's all right that you can't use the Force with your own will. It's fine, little one, really. It's understandable that this would happen," Obi-Wan gave his padawan a smile, "we weren't testing you to see if the Chosen One was still being the Chosen One. We merely wanted to see how you had changed. We weren't assessing you in that sense, though I can see now we made you feel as though we were and I'm sorry."

Anakin wiped his cheeks with back of his sleeves, "So... you'd still care if I wasn't the Chosen One."

Obi-Wan nodded, "Yes, Anakin, I would. I will always care about you, even if you decide to leave the Order and become a podd racer, I would still care about you. I promise."

"And I-I'll always care about you," Anakin said, his voice earnest.

"I know," the Jedi smiled, running a hand through the soft locks, "I know you will."

Anakin rested his head back against his chest, his cheeks now dry, though he was still sniffling a little.

"Master?"

"Hm?"

"I... I'm sorry I bit you," Anakin was surprised to hear his master actually laugh at this.

"You should be, it hurt!" he pulled back his sleeve to show Anakin the angry red marks on his forearm.

"I mean it!" the boy cried plaintively, pushing back his master's sleeve to hide the marks, "didn't mean to hurt you. Just... got angry."

"Yes, padawan," Obi-Wan chuckled, "I could see that. But no matter how much it hurt, it was still worth dangling you upside down for a good five minutes. You might as well have had a tail with all the growling you were doing," he grinned as he watched Anakin's cheeks redden as the boy spluttered.

"That wasn't funny!" he cried indignantly.

"Oh," the Jedi smiled broadly, "I think you'll find it was, padawan."

"Was not!" Anakin declared, scowling, "'m trying to be nice."

"You're right," Obi-Wan said, patting the youngling's back, "I'm sorry. I fully accept your apology. Even though the way you acted was rather hilarious, I accept your apology."

Anakin scowled, "Can't win, can I?" he asked moodily.

"No, I'm afraid not, my young padawan," he pressed a kiss against the boy's forehead, managing to get a reluctant smile from his youngling, "not this time."


	6. The Importance of Banthas

Sorry it took so long to update- coursework is finally out of the way! :D Now I only have to read 154 sonnets... -.- still, I should hopefully update faster next time round. This chapter was fun to write, though I think the ending might be a bit too fluffy DX I'll let people be the judge of that. Again, thank you to everyone who favourited, reviewed and followed my story! ^^

Smile888- Haha, I agree, I wish I could fit that in somewhere! I love the idea of baby Anakin being lured to the dark side by cookies XD Thank you for reviewing ^^

Morana- Thank you so much for reviewing! I'd read a lot of stories with Anakin going back in time and being turned into a child or even Obi-Wan being turned into a child, but all of those were in the Vader story line; I thought it'd be interesting to do it before that when they're relationship is still good :3

Crimson- Thank you for taking the time to review! ^^

**Disclaimers**- Still don't own anything. Which is a pity- I kind of need the money.

* * *

Anakin had been in the temple for little more than three days before the news of his transformation had spread through the place like wildfire. It wasn't really surprising; enough people had been told the news and had seen Anakin himself for it to spread to practically every Jedi under the temple roof. It was little wonder it got round so quickly, it was hardly minor gossip. An unknown Sith had somehow magically turned the Hero with No Fear into a three year old. People were bound to talk about it, even Jedi, who weren't exactly famous for gossiping.

Obi-Wan had known that this would happen, but the thought hadn't even crossed Anakin's mind. He didn't notice the glances and stares that they gave him; even the older, more experienced Jedi Master's couldn't help but let go of their discretion and look at the child who, by all of the laws known to them, should have been eighteen years older.

Anakin was practically oblivious to the looks he was being given as he sat in the corridor, leant up against the wall. He had always been looked at by other Jedi, so although it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences, he wasn't particularly offended or surprised to feel everybody's eyes making their way to him. All he felt was boredom and irritation that his master was taking so long. He looked longingly at the door, wishing Obi-Wan would just hurry up so they could go. Plus, he was curious to find out the results. That'd be interesting.

He heard the door open and he jumped to his feet for the fifth time in the past ten minutes. The youngling beamed as he watched his master bow, then step out into the corridor. The Jedi spotted his padawan coming towards him and graced him with a smile, though he didn't fail to notice the passing Jedi's gazes move from Anakin, to him and then to the floor. He sighed. Anakin had always generated unwanted attention ever since his arrival when he was nine. There were already stories about him before he was even properly initiated, so naturally, the Jedi were going to be curious and people would want to steal a glance at the Chosen One. At first it had bothered him, but now the boy seemed to brush it off as though he barely noticed, which, when the Jedi thought about it, was rather sad.

"Obi-Wan!" the man looked down his padawan's demanding voice, a small hand tugging at his sleeve, "what'd they say?"

"Can I not have even a moment to think, Anakin?" he sighed, though there was some amusement in his voice.

"No," the youngling said, dragging his master along the corridor, "Come on!" he whined, pulling harder on his sleeve, "what'd they say?"

"Oh, nothing that I didn't already know," Obi-Wan said with a casual shrug as they made their way down the corridor.

"Tell me!" Anakin ordered, grabbing his hand in both of his, apparently trying to yank the whole thing off.

"Just that you are the most tiresome and demanding padawan that has ever graced this temple," the Jedi smirked, laughing as an indignant, "Master!" filled his ears.

"All right, all right, I'll tell you," he soothed, still chuckling as the less than impressed youngling glowered up at him, "though wouldn't you prefer to be told in private?"

"Don't care," Anakin shrugged, "Just wanna know, Master!"

Obi-Wan shook his head, "All right, I'll tell you. First off, your midichlorian count hasn't changed- yes, I know that was never going to be likely," he said, noting the youngling's eyes roll in exasperation, "but you did say you wanted to know what they told me."

"Next one," Anakin demanded.

"Padawan, what do we say to people when we want to know something?" the Jedi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Tell me!" Anakin chirruped.

Obi-Wan sighed, "Politely, Anakin?"

The youngling puffed out a weary sigh and forced out a long drawn, "Please."

"And now..." Obi-Wan waved a hand, indicating his padawan to go on.

Anakin could not have looked more unimpressed and he sighed again, rolling his eyes dramatically, "Please tell me what they said, Master," he drawled.

"There," Obi-Wan smiled, "was that so difficult?"

"Yes," Anakin grumbled, scowling, "come on, Master," he pulled at his robes again, "please?"

Obi-Wan smiled down at him, "All right, padawan, though I'm afraid you won't find it all that interesting. They told me that your understanding of Basic is only a little better than a youngling your age, though your Huttese is perfect. You show intelligence far higher than an average three year old," he rolled his eyes at the smirk on his padawan's face at that piece of news, "and the speed of your reactions are abnormally fast, even for a Force sensitive."

Obi-Wan didn't think that children so young could look so incredibly smug, but Anakin was certainly proving that presumption wrong, "Padawan, I told you these results to inform you, not to feed your ego."

Anakin merely shrugged and stuck out his tongue at him.

"How did you ever get to be so rude?" the Jedi shook his head, "Where did I go wrong with you?"

"You didn't," Anakin piped up, now smiling up at his master, "you're rude too, Master. You're just more..."

"Subtle?"

The youngling nodded.

"Still, my subtlety hasn't stopped you from being one of the most ill-mannered padawans I've ever met."

"Nope," Anakin grinned, "'m the best padawan you've met too."

Obi-Wan smirked and shrugged, "Hm. Debatable."

"Is not!" Anakin yelped, his eyes growing round.

"Are you quite sure of that, Anakin?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Anakin cried, offended, "course I am!" he pouted.

"Oh really?"

The youngling scowled, "Yes," he grumbled.

"Would you care to tell my why you're the best out of all the padawan's here?" Obi-Wan asked, amusement seeping into his voice.

Anakin thought for a moment, "I'm the nicest," Obi-Wan snorted, "I am nice!" he protested, "just not to you. Fine, I try hardest."

The Jedi paused to consider that for a moment, then smiled, "Hm. You may actually have a point there, padawan."

The boy smiled triumphantly, seeing his master's admittance as a victory. They carried on in a pleasant silence until they reached their apartment, "Now, I need to go and inform the council about these results," he grinned at the look of mingled horror and disgust on his padawan's face, "you don't have to come if you don't want to. Will you be all right here on your own?" the look changed from trepidation and revulsion to one of disdain. He wrinkled his nose in irritation and opened his mouth to protest, before his master cut in, "it was only a question," he said, holding up his hands in defeat, "I was just checking," he opened the door for the youngling, "please try not to break anything whilst I'm gone, Anakin."

The boy grinned as he went inside, "I will!"

"You'll try not to break anything or you will try to break anything?"

Anakin happily chirruped, "I will!"

Obi-Wan turned from the door and shook his head, wondering where on earth he could have possibly gone wrong with him.

...

Obi-Wan was slowly walking back to his his apartment, one hand absently stroking his beard, a frown etched onto his brow. The meeting had taken longer than he had expected, having discussed more than his padawan's test results. Anakin's predicament brought up more complications than he would probably ever realise. The Council's main concern was news of this reaching the public. The entirety of the Jedi temple knowing of Anakin's transformation was one thing, but the whole planet knowing was another matter.

Obi-Wan shared the council's concerns in letting Anakin's change being known to the public. First off, the Jedi would be most likely be hounded night and day and almost everyone would want to see his padawan though the boy could take masses of Jedi glancing at him, he doubted he could take the eyes of Coruscant watching his every move. Also, the public's hero being turned into a vulnerable child wouldn't exactly do morale any good, something which they desperately needed for the war, but what concerned him the most was that his padawan could be put in danger if news were to get out. The boy had a surprising number of enemies and the Jedi was sure that they would be more than happy to take their chances in avenging themselves on their now helpless nemesis. Though they hadn't heard any news, there could already be a bounty on his padawan's head, a thought which made his heart pump ice.

The question that was most pressing to the Council was did the authorities need to know, something which they were still debating. They needed discretion, something which couldn't really be achieved with the entire senate knowing, yet if they were to find that the Jedi were trying to hide something this important from them, then there was a good chance that they may take offence. Besides, there was always still a chance that word would get out with or without their informing the authorities. Jedi did leave the temple and have friends outside it after all and Anakin's own friends would doubtless want to know what had happened to him, not to mention the 501st Legion. This issue was made all the more complicated by his padawan being friends with one of the most powerful politicians in the galaxy: Chancellor Palpatine.

Anakin wouldn't see any problem in letting him know, Obi-Wan knew that and the youngling would probably get offended if he wasn't allowed to visit him. But the reality was that the council didn't trust Palpatine and in all honesty, neither did Obi-Wan, or at least, he was most definitely more wary than his all trusting padawan. If Anakin wouldn't be able to understand at twenty one their worries concerning Palpatine, then there would be no way explaining to him now he was so young.

The Jedi Master was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he when he reached his apartment, he almost stepped on Anakin. He stumbled into him, then made a hasty retreat at the loud squeak by his feet. Anakin was nearly pressed up against the wall, clearly trying, and failing, to hide something behind his back.

"Hello," Obi-Wan said, raising his eyebrows.

"Hi," Anakin smiled nervously, waggling his fingers in a wave.

"Padawan... would you care to tell me what you're doing out here?"

"Er..." the youngling thought for a moment, then shook his head, "no."

The long suffering Jedi sighed, "Anakin, I was being polite. I'm not actually asking you tell me, I'm telling you to."

"Oh," Anakin fidgeted for a moment, before stepping aside to reveal what looked like a mish-mash of droid parts.

Obi-Wan frowned, looking at the parts and then back at his padawan, "Anakin... why do you have all of these parts with you? And where did you get them from?"

Anakin said nothing for a moment, thinking, "I got bored. Got them where the droids get fixed."

"You mean you stole them?" the Jedi asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Anakin huffed out an exaggerated sigh, "Didn't steal_ people_!" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes, "just parts! They don't need them!"

"Are you sure you won't get hurt? These aren't toys, padawan-"

"I know!" the boy snapped, glowering.

"_Anakin_," the sternness in his voice watered down the glare into a sulky pout, "Do you think you're still capable to fiddle with droid parts? You are quite young now, padawan."

The youngling caught the concern in his master's voice and his pout faded away, "I'll be fine," he said, smiling up at him, "I can do it. I'll be safe, promise."

The Jedi gave him one last look before sighing, "Alright," he conceded, "just... be careful."

"Yay!" Anakin grinned up at his master, before scooping up all of the parts in his arms and marching back inside, his master following. He headed to the middle of their living room where a large pile of droid parts lay scattered on the floor.

"Anakin!" the boy turned around, his eyes round

"You said I could!" he protested, dumping the heap in his arms next to the larger one.

"I didn't know you had an army of droids in parts here!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, staring at the oily pieces of metal and and wires and Force knew what else lying on his living room floor, "Force, Anakin, did you bring up half of the repairs centre?"

"Only a quarter," Anakin mumbled sulkily.

"Anakin-"

"I'll clean it up!" the boy rushed to his side and began to pull on his leg, "I'll make it clean once I'm done, I promise! Please, Master," he pouted, the action making the Jedi roll his eyes, "Please. I'm bored."

Obi-Wan ran a hand down his face and groaned, "Oh all right, then. But if you do not clean this up once you are done Anakin, there won't be another droid part in this apartment again, do you understand?"

Anakin grinned and nodded vigorously, before dashing over to the heap of bits and pieces. With a sigh, the Jedi sunk into the sofa, watching with a tired smile as his padawan began to play about with his newly found toys. They always had been toys to him. The boy had a mind for mechanics like Obi-Wan had never seen before. If he didn't have such skill with the Force, he would have made an easy living being a mechanic, or even an entrepreneur. He certainly had enough intelligence for it.

"Master?" The Jedi blinked, his reverie broken by the youngling's voice.

"Hm? Yes, padawan?"

"What'd they want?" Anakin asked, his fingers turning slick already with oil, "the Council?"

Obi-Wan waved a hand, "Oh nothing of interest."

Anakin's brow furrowed, "Can't you say?" he asked, tilting his head in thought.

The Jedi smiled gently. Even as a child, his padawan was hard to fool, "We were discussing whether to tell the senate about you."

"Oh," the youngling turned back to his pieces, frowning in concentration whilst his master patiently waited, knowing the child wasn't done, "why not?" the boy looked up at him again, "am I a secret?"

"Not necessarily, no," Obi-Wan replied slowly, thinking about just how to phrase what was quite a complicated issue, "but if we had to tell the senate, then there would a be a chance the whole planet would know. And I did not think that you would want that," the youngling shook his head, "it's difficult, because we don't know whether they need to know or not. After all, you did tell us that there is yet another Sith that we previously didn't know about."

"Tell them that," Anakin said, brightening.

"You think we should lie to the entire senate, Anakin?"

"No..." the boy thought for a moment, "just... tell them one thing and not the rest."

Obi-Wan smiled, "Perhaps. But what if they found out about you? Don't you think they would be less inclined to trust us if they found out we left out certain important truths?"

"But you're Jedi," Anakin piped up, "you're good."

"Not everyone in the senate thinks that way, Anakin."

"They should," the boy smiled, "you should say. They'll listen to you. They know _you're_ good," he didn't notice Obi-Wan's smile, his blue-grey eyes lighting up, the younglings own eyes fixed on a particularly interesting droid arm. He felt the warmth soak through their bond and he smile, "tell them you don't know where I am, but I told you about the Sith before I went away," he beamed up at his master, pleased with his fantastic plan, "I'm a padawan you're looking after when someone's away."

Obi-Wan stared at the small boy with raised eyebrows, "Anakin, it worries me how good you are at lying."

The boy grinned and shrugged, "Story telling."

The Jedi allowed a grin of his own, "Call it what you like, but you're very crafty, my young padawan."

"'m useful!" Anakin piped up, looking rather proud of himself.

"Yet at the same time, you're such a nuisance," Obi-Wan teased.

"Am not!" the boy pouted, "'m very useful."

"Is this wonderful display of robotics," the man waved a hand at the mess of wires and metal, "an example of your usefulness?"

"Yes!" Anakin answered defensively.

"And who exactly will benefit from this mess?"

Anakin paused, "I'm fixing stuff, aren't I?"

"Things that don't actually need to be fixed, Anakin," Obi-Wan smiled gently.

"If it's broken, needs to be fixed," Anakin said simply.

"It doesn't mean that anyone will benefit from it though."

The youngling rolled his eyes, "It's broken, it needs to be fixed," he said firmly.

Obi-Wan could see this conversation taking a repetitious turn, "Alright, padawan," mollifying his padawan tended to be easier when he was being particularly stubborn.

"Still don't believe me," Anakin frowned at him, before shrugging and turning back to his work, "doesn't matter. 'm still right."

The Jedi shook his head, "Stubborn padawan."

The boy stuck out his tongue, "Stupid master."

"A differing opinion has nothing to do with intelligence, young one," the man lectured gently, "Otherwise you would have to consider the general population of Coruscant as being stupid."

"Might be," Anakin pointed out.

"Yes, they might. But it wouldn't do anybody good to presume so."

Anakin plucked out an arm from the middle of the pile, oddments scattering everywhere, making the boy's finicky master wince, "You're not stupid, Master," he said, examining the object with great interest, "not really."

Obi-Wan chuckled, "Why, thank you, Anakin."

Anakin looked up to give his master a big smile, before his attention turned back to the arm; he began to play with it, his brow furrowed in concentration. The Jedi watched him for a time, smiling a little to see the child pull off the metal casing and examine with fascination all of the wires within. He didn't know how long they were like that, both of them sat in a comfortable silence, broken only by the sound of Anakin's small fingers scrabbling with the arm.

The Jedi was almost beginning to doze off before he heard a small cry. He jolted upright to find Anakin gone from his seat on the floor and jumped to his feet, "Anakin?" he turned to see his padawan sitting on the floor of the kitchen. Obi-Wan rushed to his side, kneeling beside the small boy, "Anakin, are you all right? What happened?"

The small boy sniffled, his lower lip wobbling and shook his head. A few tears spilled onto his cheeks as he pointed to the counter, where black oily hand prints could be seen against the gleaming white top. "Oh, Anakin, what did I tell you about climbing?" he admonished gently, shaking his head. Carefully, Obi-Wan pulled him onto his lap, Anakin quickly latching himself onto his front, "Can you tell me where it hurts?"

Anakin pressed his face further against the man's stomach, reach up and pointing at the back of his head. Slowly, the Jedi carefully eased his fingers through the boy's golden hair, pressing down ever so slightly. He pulled away when his padawan whimpered, the sound muffled by his robes.

"I can't feel a bump," Obi-Wan murmured, fingertips pressing gently again, "you should be fine, padawan," Anakin made a sound that seemed to indicate that he disagreed and squeezed his master tighter. The Jedi smiled, rubbing the youngling's back, "Are you not overreacting? Not even a little bit?"

Anakin peered up at his master, a look of offence and hurt on his face, "No," he murmured sulkily.

"Are you going to try another escapade with our worktops again?" Obi-Wan asked gently.

He couldn't quite make out what his padawan was saying; all he heard was some disgruntled mumbling and felt a shake of the boy's head. The Jedi's laugh was soft as he rose to his feet, one arm still keeping a firm hold on Anakin, not that he particularly needed to though; the child was clinging onto him so tightly he really could have hung there by himself. With one hand, he got out some cleaning supplies and began to clean up the oil stains on the counter, the other holding up Anakin, who seemed resolute to never again show his face from his master's shoulder.

"Why were you trying to get onto the counter, Anakin?" the Jedi asked, his arm working away furiously in the attempt to clear up the grime, "were you hungry?" he felt a nod at his shoulder, "Well then, why didn't you just tell me."

Anakin's face peeped out again, "Napping."

"I was?"

Anakin nodded and hid his face again.

"Still, if you were hungry, I wouldn't have minded being woken up. In fact really I shouldn't have been asleep in the first place."

"You're tired," Anakin mumbled, "not your fault."

Obi-Wan smiled, "Yes, but I need to keep an eye on you, as you just proved," he said, patting the youngling's back.

"'m fine," Anakin mumbled sulkily, looking up to pout at his master.

"Oh really?" Obi-Wan grinned, opening a few empty cupboards, "well, that's good. Because we need to go shopping. Lest you want to go to the cafeteria-"

"Ew, gross!" Anakin declared, scowling, "want _your_ food."

Obi-Wan smiled, "Shopping it is then."

...

Anakin was trotting happily after Obi-Wan, the Jedi looking back every so often to check he wasn't getting in the way too much of all those passing by. He was completely in his own little world, gazing around at all the people who were so much taller than him. Obi-Wan wondered if he was still getting used to the sensation of everybody towering over him; if so, he didn't seem to mind, rather, he was more intrigued than anything else.

The boy happily strolled along, smiling every so often when his master turned back to look at him. He was busy examining the interesting phenomenon of his own feet when he walked headlong into something hard, covered with soft, thick material. He fell back on his rear with an "umph!", looking up to see-

"Hi!"

Obi-Wan turned round, his eyes growing wide. Anakin was sitting on the floor, clearly having just fallen over, smiling up at none other than Chancellor Palpatine. He quickly made his way over, bowing to the man, before reaching down and pulling the youngling up onto his feet.

"Do I... know you?" The chancellor asked, slowly.

"Chanc'lor, it's me!" Anakin cried happily before Obi-Wan could even get a word in.

A look of realisation slowly passed over the man's face, his jack slackening slightly, "... Anakin?"

"Uh-huh!" Anakin beamed up at the man, evidently thrilled to find his friend.

Palpatine looked up at Obi-Wan, who had half a mind to simply bury his face in his hands and groan. But, instead, he gave a reassuring smile to the politician, "I cannot give a full explanation now, but I suggest you go to the Jedi Council. They will fully inform you of everything that has happened," he glanced down at Anakin, who still looked supremely happy, oblivious to the look of shock on his friend's face.

Palpatine nodded, his own gaze falling back to the youngling, who was pulling on his master's hand, "Going?"

"You need to say goodbye first," Obi-Wan whispered pointedly.

"Oh," Anakin bowed deeply, nearly stumbling over, "We're going shopping," he announced proudly to the dumbstruck Palpatine, who stared at him, bemused, "c'mon," he started to pull his master down the corridor, "bye, Chanc'lor!" Obi-Wan only had time to give the politician an apologetic smile before again he was dragged down the hallway by his padawan.

...

"Was Chanc'lor happy to see me?" Anakin asked, looking up at his master as they wandered through an isle.

The Jedi looked down at him and nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, I think so. He was just very surprised, that's all."

The youngling brightened at that, though his brow then furrowed with worry, "Will the Council get mad?"

"Not... mad. But I don't think they would have expected the Chancellor finding out so soon."

"Not a nice surprise?" the boy asked, tilting his head.

Obi-Wan allowed himself a grin, "No, Anakin, I'm afraid not."

Anakin shrugged, "They're silly anyway," he reached up and made a grabbing motion with his hands, "list."

"What do you want the list for?" The Jedi asked, taking out the slip of paper in his pocket.

"'m shopping too," Anakin said, looking down at it. He stared for a moment, before a huge smile split his face. His master's elegant scrawl had written out the list in basic with a Huttese translation beside it. He beamed up at Obi-Wan, before speeding off to find what they needed. Their list seemed to grow as Anakin continually added items of his own choice to the trolley. He continually dashed back and forth from Obi-Wan to the shelves whilst his master calmly walked on, watching the youngling run about with amusement.

The Jedi master was surprised then, when his padawan didn't come dashing to his side, arms full with some other unscripted item. He turned round and saw Anakin staring at something on the bottom shelf. The man came over, the youngling so engrossed with the thing that he didn't notice his master crouch down beside him.

His little hands were pressed against his chest, his round blue eyes fixed on an abandoned stuffed bantha. It hadn't yet been bought, probably left there by some careless child and Anakin was gazing at it with such yearning, as though he'd never seen one before. The Jedi could feel the longing through their bond and he remained silent, watching as the boy slowly, carefully, picked up the stuffed toy, examining it all sides with an attentive gaze. Obi-Wan watched as the boy reluctantly and with something close to reverence put the toy back where he found it. Anakin turned to walk away, only to walk into his master's legs with a squeak of surprise.

The Jedi gave a gentle smile to the slightly flustered boy, "Anakin, do you think you could get this on the list for me?" he asked quietly, pointing to the sheet of paper still clutched in the boy's hand. The youngling stared for a moment, thinking, before he smiled and nodded, running off to get what his master wanted.

Obi-Wan picked up the toy his padawan had been so fascinated with, rising to his feet. He stared at it, wondering why he had reacted the way he had. He stared at it for a moment, puzzled, before a thought struck him. He had never seen Anakin with a toy. Not even when he had came to the Jedi Temple for the first time, the bag he had with him which carried all that he had left didn't have anything in it close to resembling a toy. He thought back to how he played with all of those bits of machinery before, how he really had used them like playthings. How could his mother afford to give him anything as a slave? Had he ever even had a toy in his life?

Obi-Wan looked down at the bantha, sadness blooming in his chest. Jedi children never had toys, but Anakin was no Jedi child. He deserved more than a childhood of cold metal and dead wires.

...

"Master, I can do it!" Anakin was standing up on tiptoe, trying to reach the button to open the door. The weight of the large bag he had cradled in one arm made him stagger backwards, nearly falling over.

"Careful, padawan," Obi-Wan shook his head as he walked up to the boy, opening the door easily, "are you sure you can carry that."

"I'm helping!" the boy declared, smiling up at his master as he staggered into the apartment. The Jedi followed, his own arms laden with bags which he dumped rather carelessly on the table. Anakin set his own bag down on the floor, watching as his master began to pull out the shopping from the bags, "come on, padawan," the Jedi smiled down at him, watching the boy stare, then grin and nod. He began to pull items out of his own bag and placing them carefully on the floor.

The Jedi turned from him, unpacking and putting away all of the food. Once the bags on the counter were empty, he turned to the ones on the table, noticing his padawan's still form in the corner of his eye.

"Anakin?" he stepped round the table for a better view.

The youngling was frozen. The only noticeable movement was the rise and fall of his chest and the trembling in his hands that were clutching the stuffed bantha. He frowned as the boy continued to stay as still as stone, though his breathing grew more ragged. His concern and alarm only grew when Anakin looked up at him, tears shining in his eyes. Then suddenly, the boy started to run, almost on the spot at first, stumbling and scattering towards his master. He crashed into his legs, the force of it nearly making the Jedi fall over.

"Anakin, are you all right?" Obi-Wan asked, placing a hand on his head, "I-I'm sorry, I thought you would have liked it."

The youngling looked up at him, tears spilling onto his cheeks, sliding around the huge smile on his face, "I love him!" he cried, squeezing the man's legs as tight as possible, "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Obi-Wan grinned, his shoulders sagging in relief. He swung the boy up into his arms, hugging him tight against his chest. One small arm wrapped around his neck, the other squeezing the bantha as tight as possible, "You scared me," he murmured, holding him fast, "I thought I had upset you."

Anakin shook his head, pulling away from the hug to beam at his master, "No," he said, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand, "my eyes are crying, but my heart's not," he beamed at the Jedi, then at his bantha, "he's the best thing ever!" he wrapped his arms around his master's neck again, "thank you, Master!" Obi-Wan smiled, holding the young boy tight. After a time, the Master and padawan slowly eased out of the hug, Obi-Wan carefully depositing his padawan on the kitchen table, the boy almost the same size as the shopping bags around him.

"I love him," he said, beaming at his bantha, a finger running delicately over the horns, "I love you, too, Master."

Obi-Wan stopped. He stood there for a moment, still and staring, yet Anakin continued to gaze lovingly at his bantha. He spotted his Master and laughed. He slid off the table onto a chair, leaning up on tiptoes til he almost reached his master's face, "Master, you're s'posed to say it back," he smiled, "has no one told you it before?" the Jedi shook his head, silent still. The padawan frowned, "Oh. Well, when someone tells you, you always say it back," he smiled up at him, "but only if you mean it,"

The Jedi nodded slowly, his eyes still on Anakin. The boy tilted his head in thought. He had always thought telling someone they loved them was a happy thing, but then again, Obi-Wan was pretty strange when it came to stuff like this. Anakin didn't blame him, not really. It wasn't his fault he had had no one tell him that he was loved before. Really, that was pretty sad. He leant up again, "you can say it now, Master."

Obi-Wan blinked and nodded, eyes on his expectant, smiling padawan, "I... I love you, Anakin."

Anakin beamed, "See? It's easy," he clambered back onto the table and started to unpack again, "it's hard for you cos you don't know how to say it. That's not your fault," he looked up at the man again, "surprise you, Master?"

Obi-Wan nodded, finally not looking so shell shocked, "Yes, Anakin, I confess, it did."

"A nice surprise?"

The Jedi looked the small boy up and down, one hand pulling out shopping, the other still latched onto his bantha. His smile was a little tremulous as he pulled the boy into a hug. The youngling squeaked a little, taken aback, before wrapping his own arms around the man's neck, "Yes, Anakin," he murmured, squeezing the boy tight, "a very nice surprise. The best I've ever had."


	7. Monsters and Friends

Hi! Thanks all of the feedback I got from you guys, it means a lot! I'm really unsure about the start and the ending of this chapter, so fingers crossed it isn't too fluffy/OOC! ^^

Guest- Yeah, Padme's reaction... it's gonna be an interesting chapter... Thanks for reviewing!

Morana- Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed my story! I agree, there is often a lot of sad story's about Obi-Wan and Anakin, but their stories are quite sad, to be fair. Thank you again :)

Disclaimers: Still not George Lucas

* * *

_His bones moved; he could feel them grate against one another, a feeling which brought a horrible, nauseating pain that bled through every inch of his body. Anakin screamed again, unable to hold it back, unable to keep strong any longer. He wanted to fight, but that could only make everything worse. His leg wasn't the only thing that was broken, his collarbone on his left side had snapped in two and there was a familiar, painful tightness in his chest that made it nearly impossible to breathe properly which meant at least one of his ribs were broken._

_They moved again and Anakin could feel his stomach churn; he was terrified of vomiting, of choking on his own sick which would undoubtedly happen, being strapped down to a table and every head movement sending a shooting pain through his collar bone. The hands that would have otherwise made a gentle, massaging motion, pressed down on his fractured leg, the splintered bone grinding under his fingers._

_The young man screamed but then his mouth was suddenly filled with hard plastic and there were wires, wires everywhere, in him, on him, growing from his skin, his veins turning into plastic. They filled him with acid; his body was burning and he could feel __him, feel the darkness burning from him, oozing from his presence, trying to leak into him through the wires, the wires that covered him, Anakin was drowning in such tempting darkness and choking plastic-_

Anakin woke up with a jolt. He lay under the covers, arms wrapped tightly around Markyle, his eyes wide and staring though there wasn't anything to see. Slowly, he wriggled up, poking his head out from under the sheets only to instantly duck back down again. His room was full of dark disfigured shapes. Maybe they didn't know he was there? Maybe if he was quiet enough he could sneak out? He peered out again and quailed. Anything and everything in his room looked threatening. The youngling decided he couldn't take the risk. Not only might those creatures get him, but _they_ were looking for him too. It was far too dangerous for him and Markyle to attempt an escape, yet he was too exposed here on the bed.

Slowly, painfully slowly, he squirmed and slid his way the edge of the bed. Adrenaline was rushing through him, making the arm clutching his toy shake along with the rest of him. Now was the tricky part; getting out of the covers and under the bed. Anakin lay there, trying to figure out just how he was going to do this. Though the sheets didn't protect him fully, they did still help; so he simply dragged them along with him, crawling under the bed with the bedclothes dragged over the edge of a mattress like a curtain.

Anakin sat there, hugging Markyle tightly to his chest, staring out into the darkness. He felt tears fill his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. They'd hear him cry and then it'd be all over. He sat there, just waiting for something reach under and grab him. His eyes grew round as he heard soft footfalls across his carpet. He squeezed the bantha as tight as possible, hiding his face against his soft fur, his tears making him wet. He managed not to make a sound, but his shoulders still shook with silent sobs. The youngling heard a click of the light switch and he tensed, ready to make a run for it when-

"Anakin?"

There was sharp intake of breath and he looked up to see Obi-Wan crouching down near him, his brow furrowed with concern.

"Master!"

He stared at him, impossible relief flooding his senses. Then, his face broke and all the fear he had kept such a strong control over broke loose. He began to cry as his master carefully pulled him out from under the bed, but it was okay to cry now; Obi-Wan would never let_ them_ or the monsters get him. He was pulled into the safety of his arms, Markyle squished between the Jedi and Anakin as the youngling hid his face against the man's broad chest.

Obi-Wan rose to his feet and sat on the bed, cradling the distraught child to his chest. Gently, he rocked him back and forth, a hand running through his blonde locks as the boy on his lap shook and sobbed. "It's all right, Anakin," he murmured, "It's okay, you're safe. Did you have a nightmare?"

Anakin nodded, "You made 'em go 'way," he hiccuped, pressing his face against his master's robes.

"Who, padawan?"

"Monsters," the boy mumbled, looking around the now brightly lit room from whence the nightly terrors had seemed to have scattered. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he pulled at his master's front, "Mas'er what 'bout the others!?"

"What others? More monsters?"

The boy shook his head, "No, the others! They're looking for me!"

Obi-Wan frowned, "You mean, those looking for you when I found you?" he asked quietly, gently stroking a tear ridden cheek.

"M-might still be here!" Anakin cried, panicked, tiny hands clinging to his master.

"Anakin. It was nightmare," he soothed, running a hand up and down his back, "no one is here other than you and me."

"What if they are?!" tears spilled onto the youngling's flushed cheeks. He looked round and tentatively whispered, "wh-what if_ he's_ here?"

"Who?"

Th-the Sith."

Obi-Wan smiled, "Padawan, if there was a Sith in the Temple, the Jedi would know about it," he pulled him back against his chest, "no one is here but us."

"You sure?" Anakin asked, wrapping his arms around his master's chest as far as they could go, which wasn't very far.

Obi-Wan nodded, "Yes, I'm sure."

"C-can we check? Please?"

And that was how Obi-Wan found himself at half two in the morning wandering around their flat turning on every light and checking anywhere where someone could hide. All the while his padawan was cradled to his chest, the boy hiding his face every time a door was opened. Every cupboard, closet, blind spot and spaces under furniture was examined and slowly, bit by bit, Anakin's fears began to dissipate and his cries turned to sniffles. By the time they were done, the youngling was sunk against his master, head lolling on his shoulder.

"Do you want to go back to bed?" Obi-Wan asked, his reply a small tired whine and a shake of the head.

"They'll come back," he mumbled.

"Not if I'm here they won't," the Jedi smiled, "maybe it will help if you tell me what your nightmare was about?"

Anakin nodded, thinking as his master sat down at the kitchen table, "It was real," he mumbled, "what they did," he rested his head against the man's chest, hugging Markyle tightly, "they hurt me," he whispered, "my leg was broken and they broke it more," the boy looked up at his master with round eyes, "then_ he_ was there."

"The Sith?" Obi-wan asked, finding it hard to keep his voice steady.

Anakin nodded, curling up on the man's lap, "Dark Side's scary, Master."

"Yes, it is, padawan," Obi-Wan murmured, "it's very scary indeed."

"He wanted me to be part of it," Anakin mumbled, "I didn't want it though."

Obi-Wan nodded, running a hand through the boy's hair, then frowning, "He? I thought you said you didn't see the Sith?" Anakin paused, "How did you know that the Sith's a man?" the youngling stared and shook his head. The Jedi frowned, silent for a moment, "Padawan, I want you to close your eyes." He started to pull Markyle from his arms.

"Markyle-"

"You can have him back in a moment," he soothed, placing the bantha on the table, "I need you to close your eyes for me," Anakin gave his toy one last look, before taking a breath and closing his eyes, "now, I know it's scary, but I want you to think back to when you were with the Sith. Search your feelings and look past the fear. What else did he make you feel?"

Anakin's face contorted into a frown, his pyjama top twisting in his small hands. He didn't speak for a few minutes, silent. Then, he opened his eyes, "Similar."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, "Similar? Padawan-"

"I knew him," the boy whispered, reaching for the bantha and cradling him to his chest, "I _know_ him."

"He felt familiar?" Obi-Wan asked, eyes widening, "Anakin, are you sure?"

The youngling nodded.

"And he wasn't Dooku?"

"Was scarier than Dooku," Anakin whispered, "he was evil," he looked up at his master, his eyes round, "wants me, doesn't he?"

Obi-Wan sighed and looking at the small boy on his lap. He cupped his cheek, wishing that he could forever keep him safe from all the evils of the world. But children can't and never will be kept safe from the darkness within the galaxy, no matter how hard they're held onto. With great reluctance, he nodded his head.

"Wh-why?" Anakin asked, grabbing his master's front, "why me?"

"Because, little one, you are very powerful," Obi-Wan murmured sadly, stroking his hair, "and there are those out there who would see it fit to take advantage of that power."

"Don't wanna be a Sith!" Anakin cried, burying his face against his master's stomach, "wanna be a Jedi. Wanna stay with you!"

Obi-Wan smiled, "Then that's what will happen," he said gently, rubbing his back. Anakin looked up, sniffling, "padawan, no matter what, you will always have a choice. Not I, nor the Jedi Council, nor any Sith is able to control your fate. Only you are. You can chose the light or the dark. Only you can do that. No one else can do it for you."

"I-I choose the light," Anakin murmured, wiping his cheeks.

"Then that is the path you will follow," he replied simply.

"And I-I'll stay with you?" he asked plaintively.

Obi-Wan nodded, smiling, "For as long as you want, padawan."

A smile broke Anakin's face, "Forever!" he yelled, squeezing his master tight.

The Jedi laughed, "Won't you get tired of me?"

Anakin shook his head in earnest, "Never!"

"Well, that's good to hear," Obi-Wan stroked his beard and sighed, "though, it is nearly three o'clock. You may not be tired of me yet, but you must be exhausted."

Anakin nodded, "Can I sleep with you? Case they come back?"

The Jedi smiled as he rose to his feet, "Yes, Anakin, you can."

"Can Markyle sleep with us too?"

Obi-Wan chuckled a little, "Yes, he can. I doubt either of you will take up much room."

He reached his bedroom, pulling back the covers and lying back on the mattress, still holding Anakin to him. With a sigh of relief, he turned of the light and closed his eyes. Anakin now lay sprawled on his chest, one arm wrapped around Markyle, the round his master's neck. Obi-Wan didn't mind; the boy wasn't much of a weight on him and he held him with one arm, the rest of his limbs spread across the mattress, both padawan and master as undignified as each other. It wasn't long before both of them fell into a sleep free of plastic and Siths.

...

Obi-Wan frowned. Ever since Anakin's change, he never seemed to wake up in a pleasant way and this morning was no exception. There was a distant bell was ringing and there was a small hand prodding at his cheek, "Anakin, what is it?" he asked sleepily, his eyes still closed.

"Doorbell," another prod, "want me to answer?" Obi-Wan mumbled something incoherent and nodded, "Okay!" the man grunted as his padawan rudely dug his feet into his stomach to clamber off him and get to the door. The door. "Wait," the man mumbled, pushing himself up onto his arms, "did you say the doorbell?"

"Uh huh!" Anakin chirruped, reaching up to push the door open. Obi-Wan had put half his cloak on when he heard a cheerful, "Hi Bail!"

Cloak half hanging off him, Obi-Wan nearly fell out of bed and practically scattered to the door. He skidded to a halt, finding Anakin smiling up at Bail. The man stared at the youngling in front of him, silent for a moment before saying slowly, "Hello... Anakin."

Anakin beamed up at Bail, "Come for Obi-Wan?"

Bail looked up to see Obi-Wan hastily putting on his cloak and giving Bail a partly apologetic, partly reassuring smile, "Anakin," the boy turned and looked up at his master who was giving him a well known smile.

Anakin sighed and rolled his eyes, "Wanna talk?"

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded, "Yes, Anakin."

"Grown up stuff?" Anakin asked, raising an eyebrow, looking unimpressed.

Obi-Wan nodded again, "And most likely very boring. Oh, and you left Markyle in bed."

"Oh, okay," he turned to Bail, smiled and bowed, "see you, Bail!"

The man watched as Anakin made his way past Obi-Wan and into his bedroom. Then he looked up at Obi-Wan, his eyes wide, "Who's Markyle?"

Obi-Wan ran a hand through his messy hair, "He's a bantha."

"Anakin's... a child... And you have a bantha?"

Obi-Wan couldn't help but grin at the utterly lost look on his friend's face. Yes, it was a bit cruel to be amused by his more than understandable shock, but even he had to admit, the look on his face was rather funny, "Markyle is Anakin's stuffed toy," he explaining, "Come," he took the stunned man by his arm, "I think I owe you an explanation."

...

"A Sith?" Bail asked, before taking a sip of his tea, "and Anakin _knows_ him?"

Obi-Wan nodded, "That's what he told me. And Anakin would neither lie nor would he be confused on the matter. If he says he knows this Sith than I believe him."

"But who could it be?" Bail asked, shaking his head, "how can he know him, yet still be unsure of his identity?"

"Anakin said he never spoke, that he was trying to hide his presence from him. It was lucky he could tell who he was even a little."

Bail nodded, watching Anakin play with some of the scrap metal, his precious bantha sitting on his lap, "And now he's..."

"Three years old," Obi-Wan murmured, "yes."

Bail looked to him, "And how have you been?"

Obi-Wan remained quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly, "I have taken it surprisingly well, all things considering. He's been keeping me so busy I haven't really had time to actually think about what's happened. I just... went along with it, like he did," he sighed, taking a drink, "I'm sorry, if I had known it was you I wouldn't have let him answer the door. I thought you would have heard about it by now."

Bail shook his head, "No, not even a mention of Anakin. I had thought he was still missing, that's partly why I came here."

Obi-Wan smiled, "I'm sorry, my friend, I should have informed you-"

Bail waved his apology off with a hand, smiling, "Don't worry about it, it looks like you've had your hands more than full."

Obi-Wan nodded, the smile wiped from his face when his gaze fell on Anakin, "Anakin, I told you to get dressed fifteen minutes ago!"

Anakin looked up and scowled, "Don't want to!"

Obi-Wan sighed in exasperation, "Anakin, we have a guest."

"Bail's not a guest," Anakin replied, frowning, "he's your friend. And I don't want to!"

Obi-Wan shook his head, "I would still like you to get dressed."

"Don't want to," Anakin repeated and he began to spread the pile of metal on the carpet.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, "you are not making another metal angel."

The Jedi turned sharply at Bail's poorly hidden snort, "Metal angel?"

"Why not?" Anakin asked, tilting his head.

"Because then I'm going to have to give you a bath."

"Good!" Anakin smiled, "I like baths."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and gestured at Bail, "The guest?"

"He's not a guest, he's Bail!" Anakin protested, "_You're_ not dressed!"

"He has a point you know," Bail said, clearly very amused by the exchange between Master and Padawan. No one could quite unravel his friends' dignified exterior like Anakin could.

"Do not encourage him," Obi-Wan said, pointing a finger at the man, unimpressed by the smirk on his face.

"Can I have a pyjama day?" Anakin asked, pouting.

"Jedi don't have pyjama days, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied wearily, turning once again to his tiresome padawan.

"'m not a Jedi!" Anakin chirruped, grinning, "'m a padawan!"

"I'm afraid padawans don't have pyjama days either," Obi-Wan shrugged, "but do you know what padawans do have?"

"What?" Anakin asked, brightening.

"The sense to listen to their masters and do as they're told," the Jedi said firmly.

"You don't do what you say!" Anakin argued, "you're in your pyjamas!"

Obi-Wan sighed, "If I get dressed, will you do the same after me?"

The youngling nodded, "Uh-huh!"

Obi-Wan looked at him, before turning his attention to his friend, who was trying, rather poorly, to hide his grin. "I fail to see what you find so amusing, Bail."

Bail chuckled, "You would, Obi-Wan. Would you like me to stay with him whilst you get dressed?"

Obi-Wan ran a hand across his face and nodded, "Yes, please," he rose to his feet before pausing, "and if he looks like he's about to fling himself into the pile of scrap metal, try to stop him."

"I shall do my best," Bail chuckled. He watched Obi-Wan walk past Anakin, his smile growing when he saw the youngling latch onto the man's legs, grinning up at him.

Obi-Wan tried his best to give his padawan a disapproving look, but the sternness was broken by a smile, "Try to be good," he said, "Please?"

"Won't be gone for long," Anakin pointed out, releasing the man's shins.

"Padawan, time does not matter when it comes to your powers in mischief," Obi-Wan muttered.

"Don't have powers in mischief!" Anakin protested, frowning.

"Padawan, I and every Jedi Master who has ever met you, beg to differ," the Jedi smirked a little, before closing his bedroom door. Anakin scowled the stuck his tongue out at the door.

Bail chuckled. It was odd, yet enjoyable to watch the to interact with each other so openly. He didn't know Anakin as well as Obi-Wan, but he knew exactly how Obi-Wan felt about him. Anakin was his youngling, but he tried so hard not to show it. Now it seemed the Jedi was incapable of doing anything else. He rose to his feet, moving over to the sofa where he watched the young boy fiddle with his make shift playthings. It was so strange that this was Anakin Skywalker, army general extraordinaire, the Hero with No Fear. Yet it was so painfully obvious that it was him, there could be no alternative explanation. It was odd and baffling, but it was Anakin and the boy certainly didn't seem to mind being so young.

"Are these all the toys your Master gave you?" Bail asked gently, teasing him a little.

Anakin smiled up at him and shook his head, "No, he gave me Markyle!" he held up the bantha he seemed to love so much. Bail had thought Jedi weren't allowed possessions and he smiled back at the youngling, thinking how it struck him as something normal rather than strange that Obi-Wan would do that for his padawan, "got these myself."

"Wouldn't you rather play with something else?" Bail asked, his glancing over the metal pieces.

Anakin frowned. He'd never thought of having anything else, "Don't have anything else," he said, pausing before smiling again, "I don't mind."

Bail thought for a moment, before reaching into his pocket. The youngling watched with curiosity, his eyes growing round as the man drew out a notepad and a pencil, "I'm a bit old fashioned," he admitted, passing the notepad to the boy, "I prefer it to datapads."

Anakin held the object carefully in his hands, staring at it with wide eyes. The man chuckled, opening it for him, "I like to draw. Do you?"

The boy nodded slowly, turning over the pages with gentle care. Some of them had notes scrawled in Basic, the handwriting too messy for him to make out, but others were filled with sketches. Anakin gazed at them tilting his head, "Who's that?" he asked, pointing to a sketch of a woman.

"That's my wife," Bail said with a gentle smile.

"She's beautiful," Anakin murmured, gazing at her for a little bit, before turning over the pages, "That's Padme!" Anakin grinned.

Bail nodded, "Yes, that was during one very long meeting with the senate."

Anakin's eyes grew round, "Grown ups get bored?"

Bail laughed, "Yes, Anakin, even grown ups get bored. I would doubt even a Jedi's patience would hold under a three hour long debate over something so trivial I can't even remember it."

Anakin continued to scour through the notebook, looking at each picture with equal fascination. Then, he felt a tap on his head and he looked up to see a pencil being offered to him, "You said you liked to draw?"

Anakin looked from the pencil to the notepad and his eyes widened, "No," he said, trying to push back the notepad, "this is important-"

"I think I can survive a meeting with a datapad, Anakin," Bail smiled, placing the notepad on the boy's lap, "besides, it means it won't give me an opportunity to get distracted."

"You sure?" Anakin asked, frowning, "what about your pictures?"

"How about I lend them to you for now. Then when I come back, I'll take my pictures and leave you with my notebook. Does that sound like a fair deal?"

Anakin thought hard, frowning down at the note pad, before nodding solemnly, "I'll be really, really careful," he vowed.

Bail grinned, "I'm sure you will, Anakin. Why don't you draw something?"

"Won't be as good as yours," Anakin pointed out.

"Yes, but I've had lots of practise," the man flipped over to a blank page, "why don't you start practising now?"

When Obi-Wan emerged from his room, fully dressed, he found Anakin hunched over something, a scratching noise coming from him, Bail watching him with a smile.

"Anakin," the boy looked up at his master, "we had a deal."

"Oh," Anakin looked from the notepad to his master, then smiled, "Okay!" he scrambled to his feet, dashing off to his room.

Obi-Wan gave his friend a quizzical look, moving to sit next to him, "What did you just give him?"

Bail picked up the notebook and passed it to him. Obi-Wan stared at it; it was a child's drawing of two people, underneath written badly was "Obi-Wan and Anakin". "I thought you loved this notepad?" he murmured absently, his eyes still fixed on the drawing.

"Do you think I've been carrying around the same one since we met?" Bail snorted, "I must have a hundred spare ones at home."

"Why did you give it to him?"

Bail sighed, "I know Anakin is still him. I know that there is some grown up in him, but... it didn't feel right, watching a child play with all of this," he gestured to the scrap heap, "I thought he'd prefer something else to do so I gave him this."

"I didn't think-"

"You've had enough to think about as it is," Bail cut in firmly, "don't worry yourself over it, Obi-Wan. Besides, you got him that bantha and that toy alone would probably be enough to keep him happy."

Obi-Wan chuckled, "yes, he does love it. I wonder what he'll do with him once it's been reversed."

Bail paused, "Have you thought about what you'll do if you can't reverse it?"

Obi-Wan stopped. He stared at the floor, his cheeks growing a little pale, "I hadn't... it hadn't even crossed my mind," he murmured, "I had just assumed that we would be able to..." he looked up at his friend, "of course, I'd bring him up again," his thumb abesntly stroked the picture, "I'd bring him up a hundred times if I had to."

"I'm sorry-"

"No, it's fine," the Jedi waved off the apology, "really, I should have thought about it before. I haven't really had time to think."

"I shouldn't have said on it," Bail braced his arm with a hand, "try not to dwell on it, Obi-Wan," Obi-Wan nodded, staring at the picture before closing the book, "though there is one more thing that you need to think about."

"What?" the Jedi asked warily.

Bail sighed, "Padme."

Obi-Wan shut his eyes and groaned, "She's here, isn't she?"

Bail nodded, "I'm afraid so. She's thinking of coming by tomorrow. Should I tell her no?"

Obi-Wan, had, by now, his face in his hands, "No, she has every right to know," he mumbled, "Palpatine does, it's only right the rest of his friends should know too."

"You're going to tell all of his friends? Even those who fight with you?"

Bail winced as the man weaved a weary sigh, "Do you think they should? What would it do for morale?"

"Children do wonders for morale."

"Not when the said children are meant to be the ones leading them into battle," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"You don't have to show him to the whole battalion," Bail eased, "just a few of his close friends. And if you tell them to not to say to anyone, they will listen to you."

"Master?" Obi-Wan turned sharply at his padawan's voice, "is Bail staying for lunch?"

Bail checked his watch and smiled at the youngling, who had his tunic on back to front, "I'm afraid I can't Anakin, but I will drop by later for my notebook."

"Okay!"

Both Obi-Wan and Anakin saw Bail to the door, Bail giving Obi-Wan a reassuring smile and chuckling as Anakin nearly fell over bowing to him. After he left, the Jedi turned to the youngling, smiling when he saw his top was on back to front. He lifted him up and carrying him to the kitchen, where he placed him on the table, "arms up."

"Master?" Anakin asked as his master pulled off his tunic, "are we gonna see Rex and Cody today?"

Obi-Wan frowned, "Just how much of that conversation did you hear?"

"Only the end part," Anakin promised, tugging down his top.

"Well, I don't know whether we will have time, Anakin," he said truthfully, "we need to have lunch and then we'll need to talk to the council."

"More important than the council!" Anakin declared.

Obi-Wan smiled, "I know that is your opinion, but they need to know about the Sith. It is very important that they know, Anakin."

"But I wanna see Rex and Cody!" Anakin whined, "please, Master," he pouted, "can't we see them after? Please?"

"Do you want them to see you?" the Jedi asked gently.

Anakin shot him a hurt look, "Yes," he mumbled, "I miss them."

"I suppose it has just been us two for a while now, hasn't it?" Obi-Wan murmured, stroking the boy's hair. Maybe it was because when Anakin was nearer this age, he hadn't really had any friends to miss. He hadn't thought about the youngling wanting to see his friends.

"I like that," Anakin reassured him, smiling, "like being with you. Just wanna see them too!"

...

Obi-Wan had never seen clones actually interact with any children before. War, fortunately, hadn't brought them much chance to see children and of course, they grew up so quickly that they had never really associate with them. Yet it was clear, once the shock had faded from seeing their general as he was, that they adored him.

Obi-Wan stayed silent, watching with a gentle smile as they argued over who would have Anakin on his lap next. They'd been like that for almost half an hour now, each of them taking it in turns to dote on their youngling. Obi-Wan was sure if they could, they'd have him stay with them till he grew up all over again. Currently, the youngling was sat on Fives's lap, watching the exchange with a huge grin on his face. Always the attention seeker. Still, the Jedi knew it was a bit more than that. He was with his friends and they were all so ecstatic to see him. It was a pity that it was only later in life that Anakin got the feeling of being wanted by someone other than Obi-Wan.

"Fives, can I try your helmet?" he piped up. The conversation stopped as soon as he spoke, all of them focused on him. The Jedi found it hard not to laugh when Rex, Alpha and Cody rushed to give it to him. The youngling examined the helmet carefully, before putting it on, the weight of it nearly making him fall off Fives's lap. He pushed it up to peer at the men, his eyes shining as he grinned up at them.

"Personally, Sir, I think it's a bit too big," Cody chuckled.

Anakin wrinkled his nose, "I'm not Sir, I'm Anakin!"

"Technically speaking, Anakin, you are still their general," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"Still, I'm just Anakin," Anakin insisted, "Hey, can I play with your blaster?"

He let the helmet fall back over his face as the room was filled with a unified, "No!"

Even Anakin didn't bother arguing with that.

...

"Why do you have to go?" Anakin asked mournfully. The boy was still clinging to the helmet, as though hoping he could somehow keep it hostage.

"We have to do some training," Rex said gently, who was knelt down before him, "but you can visit us soon, Si- Anakin."

Anakin looked up at the others, "Do you have to?"

Alpha nodded, giving the boy a small smile, "I'm afraid so."

Reluctantly, he handed back the helmet. Then he flung his arms around Rex's neck. Obi-Wan could tell the move had taken the man by surprise, but still, Rex wrapped his arms round him all the same, "Promise me you'll be safe," Anakin half ordered, half pleaded. Obi-Wan could hear the commanding general somewhere in there, but mostly what he heard was a youngling scared for his friends. The boy looked up at the other clones, not quite picking up on the pained expressions on their countenances, "promise."

Without thought, all three gave him a salute, "We promise, Anakin."

...

Obi-Wan was glad Anakin didn't cry, but he could tell that the boy was close to doing so when he finally waved goodbye to his friends. They walked down the corridor, hand in hand, when the Jedi heard a small sniffle. He looked down and saw Anakin rubbing at his cheeks, "Oh, Anakin, it's all right," he soothed, leaning down to pull the boy into a hug, "they won't be going on another mission for a while, they're only training right now."

"Might still get hurt," Anakin whimpered, wrapping his arms around the man's neck.

"Yes, they might. But everything we do carries a risk of us getting hurt," Obi-Wan murmured, rising to his feet with the boy still in his arms, "I'm afraid that's just the chance we all have to take. Everyone does it, every time we step out of our doors, but we still do it because it's worth it."

"Don't wanna lose them," Anakin mumbled, a few tears dripping on his cloak.

"I know you don't, but you wouldn't be able to protect them no matter how badly you want to," he rubbed the boy's back, "it's their decision to make, little one, not yours."

Anakin nodded, sniffling, "I understand, Master," his lower lip trembled, "but they're my friends."

"Yes, they are and they're very lucky to have you," Obi-Wan soothed, "but would it be fair for them to stop you from going to war when you're older just to keep you safe?"

"No," Anakin mumbled, shaking his head.

"Then, as hard as it is, you must do the same for them. We all have to let people who matter to us go into danger sometimes padawan. I've had to let you go, a great many times. But I always do it, because it wouldn't be fair to hold you back."

"Was it hard?" the youngling asked, looking up at his master.

Obi-Wan nodded, "Yes, it was very hard at first. It is still difficult, but it's easier now, or it was when you were a bit older. There have been far too many times I let you go and was terrified you wouldn't come back."

"You get scared?" Anakin asked, his eyes turning round.

The Jedi nodded, "Yes," he murmured, "I shouldn't, but I do."

"Thought you weren't scared of anything."

Obi-Wan chuckled a little, "I am, padawan, trust me."

"Scared of flying?"

"I told you, I'm not scared of it, I just don't like it," Obi-Wan said firmly, raising an eyebrow at his padawan's poorly hidden giggles, "and what, pray what is my padawan scared of?"

"Nothing!" Anakin declared, grinning.

"Oh really?" Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, smirking, "not even this?" the hallway erupted with the sound of giggles as Obi-Wan's clever fingers worked away at Anakin's neck. He cradled him in one arm, the youngling's small hands scrabbling at his master's own in the attempt to get it off his neck.

"N-no, Master- t-tickles!"

"I thought you weren't scared of being tickled," Obi-Wan said casually.

"'m no-" Anakin couldn't finish his sentence as he burst into another gale of laughter, "S-stop!"

"Do you get scared of a few things, padawan?" Obi-Wan asked, his fingers still mercilessly tickling the small boy.

"Y-yes!" Anakin yelled, eyes shut as he roared with laughter, "Yes!"

Obi-Wan finally brought the torture to a halt, holding the still laughing boy to his chest. On the walk back to their apartment, he had to stoutly ignore all the looks the Jedi were giving him as he carried a limp youngling in his arms, whose face still buried against the man's neck; though it muffled them, it didn't stop the weak stream of giggles being heard from everyone walking past.

"You're doing this to get back at me, aren't you?" Obi-Wan muttered, heat creeping up his neck.

He felt the boy nod and let out a particularly loud laugh. The Jedi sighed and shook his head, "Irksome padawan."

"Deserve it," Anakin shot him a grin, before carrying on giggling. He didn't stop till they reached home.


	8. Trials of the Grieved

Hi! thank you again for all of the feedback I received for my last chapter, I really appreciate it! I have never actually written Padme before, but she's an amazing character, so I really hope I've done her justice here. I hope you enjoy!

Morana- Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you enjoyed Anakin's interactions with everyone ^^

Disclaimers- Not George Lucas.

* * *

Anakin, at times, couldn't help but notice how small he was. It wasn't as though it was on his mind all the time, but it was another unavoidable change that he couldn't help but notice. The only time he didn't have to look up at people was when Obi-Wan was carrying him. It didn't particularly bother him though, he rather liked Obi-Wan carrying him around, especially seeing as his legs got tired a lot more often than they used to. But he couldn't reach half the things that he used to be able to, which was annoying, seeing as when the things he wanted to reach (like sweets) weren't allowed, his master could simply put them at the top of the cupboards; even standing on a chair, he couldn't reach them, which wasn't at all fair, but there was nothing the youngling could do about it.

Anakin didn't remember being so little when he had ran to Obi-Wan's rooms because of nightmares when he was first in the Temple. Even then, he still took up a bit of space. Now, he was lying in the centre of the bed, spread out like a starfish and his limbs weren't even close to the edges of the mattress. He didn't bother moving because he was very tired. Neither him or his master had had a very good night's sleep. The padawan's nightmares had only got worse last night and he felt bad for waking Obi-Wan up so often, but he was the only one who could fight off the Sith and all the monsters. Anyway, his master said he didn't mind and Anakin knew he wasn't lying that time.

The youngling whined a little, rubbing his eyes with one fist, the other looking for Markyle. He couldn't find him and he sat up looking around with bleary eyes for his friend. He slumped back and groaned when saw the bantha lying on the floor. With great reluctant he crawled to the edge of the bed, trying to reach his friend without taking a foot off the ground. He was just out of reach.

Puffing out an exasperated sigh, he clambered off the bed and grabbed the toy, hugging him to his chest. Well, he might as well go see Obi-Wan seeing as he was up now. He stumbled out of the Jedi's room, his limbs uncoordinated with drowsiness. He saw his master at the table and smiled.

"Hi Master."

Obi-Wan looked round, before his eyes falling on Anakin. He smiled gently, "Hello, Anakin. How are you feeling."

He watched as the boy went over to him, helping the youngling clamber onto his lap, "Tired," the boy mumbled, slumping against his master, "'m sorry I woke you."

"It wasn't your fault," Obi-Wan murmured, stroking his hair, "you have some frightful dreams, padawan."

Anakin nodded, "They're scary," he smiled up at his master, "you keep all the bad things away, so it's okay."

Obi-Wan smiled down at him, "Oh, Bail dropped by."

"Take his pictures?" Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan smiled mysteriously and the child tilted his head a little in thought, "Yes. But he left something for you," the man's large hands lifted him up and stood him on the ground. Anakin was about to protest before he saw Obi-Wan pick up a large box on the table. His eyes grew round as he saw his master lean down and hand the box to him. He stared at it, then up at Obi-Wan who chuckled, "it's for you. Open it," Anakin nodded, sitting down on the floor. He slowly undid the ribbon and carefully lifted up the lid.

Obi-Wan's smile grew as watched Anakin gasp, his eyes wide and shining. Inside was a large pad of paper, next to which lay a row of brightly coloured pens and a box of paint. It was a pity Bail wasn't there to see it. The boy seemed hold his breath almost, staring at the art set before him before exploding.

"I love it!" Obi-Wan laughed as he watched Anakin jump up from his place on the floor and bounce around in excitement, clutching the bantha to his chest, "I love it, I love it, I love it!" He practically jumped into his master's legs, hugging them tight, "Bail is wizard!"

The Jedi grinned and nodded, "Yes, he is. Look, there's a note," he pointed to the box. Anakin turned and picked it up, frowning at it, "you try reading it," Obi-Wan encouraged gently. The boy glanced at him, the Jedi smiling and nodding.

Anakin tilted his head and started to read aloud, slowly, "Dear Anakin, I hope you like this..."

"Gift," Obi-Wan supplied.

"Gift. I wanted to... thank," he turned to his master, who nodded, "thank you for... giving me back my book... and looking after it so well. You're a... good artist, but I thought you could..."

"Use."

"Use some colour. Have fun... drawing. Love, Bail." He stared at the note a moment, before looking up and beaming up at Obi-Wan.

"We'll have to say thank you," Obi-Wan murmured, looking at the box. Bail really shouldn't have. Between the two of them they'd spoil Anakin for sure. But it was nice to see him so happy, especially after the turbulent night he had, "he's very busy though... we'll give him a message."

...

"Master, you sure banthas don't like baths?" Anakin asked uncertainly, his eyes on Markyle who was sitting by the sink.

"Absolutely sure," Obi-Wan replied, smiling, "if you put a bantha in a bath they may shrink."

"Like me?"

The Jedi chuckled and shook his head, "Not quite like you, no," Anakin kept on eye on his friend whilst his master washed his hair, "Anakin, I need to talk to you about something," Anakin looked up, "Padme's visiting today."

Anakin's eyes grew round, "Really?!" he shouted, splashing water as he sat up straight.

Obi-Wan smiled a little sadly at his reaction. Anakin's relationship with senator Amidala had always been one that the Jedi would have frowned upon. His padawan had always adored Padme, there was no denying that. Force, he still remembered with painful clarity when Anakin announced at nine years old that he was going to marry her and the rather turbulent and awkward conversation that had followed. Now, he didn't know where he stood on the matter; he could scarcely lecture him on emotions and relationships, especially when he was so young. It was impossible for a youngling to keep feelings in check. Obi-Wan had always suspected something between them, but there was never any proof to validate his concerns. It was why he wanted to talk to him first before she came.

"Yes, she is," he said, rubbing the suds into his padawan's hair, "but... Anakin, she's going to be very shocked to see you like this. So, you can't take it personally if she doesn't seem happy to see you," he hadn't needed to give such a serious talk before meeting the clones (there were rather different emotions and relationships at play there) and he simply hadn't had the chance to before the boy met Palpatine and Bail.

"Surprise her?" Anakin asked, squeezing his eyes shut as Obi-Wan poured the water over his head.

"Yes," Obi-Wan affirmed, rinsing the boy's hair, "so, don't be offended if she doesn't seem happy, all right?"

Anakin nodded, smiling up at the Jedi, "All right," he whined miserably as he saw Obi-Wan pull the plug, "Master!"

"Anakin, I doubt you'll want to meet her whilst you're in the bath, will you?" the Jedi said, rolling his eyes at his padawan's whinging. He grabbed the towel, lifting the boy up with it and wrapping it round him.

"No," Anakin replied sulkily, "I like baths."

"As I am fully aware, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied, smiling, "but just because you like something does not mean that you can live in it." He dried the youngling off and gave him his clothes, which he had to help put on seeing as the boy was putting everything on back to front.

"'m getting better," Anakin insisted as Obi-Wan pulled down his tunic.

"Yes, you are," Obi-Wan murmured, smiling.

"And I read the note!" Anakin declared proudly.

Obi-Wan chuckled, "Yes, padawan. I have to say, you did very well."

Anakin smiled triumphantly and nodded, "When's Padme coming?"

"Soon," Obi-Wan said, rising to his feet. He passed Markyle to him and lead the boy out of the bathroom.

"You told her?"

Obi-Wan sighed, "No. Your situation isn't really something that can be put into words, little one. She will simply have to see for herself."

...

It felt strange to be in Coruscant without Anakin. Of course, her husband wasn't the sole reason for Padme's visits, but most of her free time was spent with him. He would always be there to greet her when she got off her flight, so it was odd that he didn't do so this time, or that he hadn't contacted her at all. It just wasn't what Ani did, especially since he had been missing for so long. She had only found out that he was back through Bail; of course, she didn't expected to be told through any official line of communication, seeing as her privilges as his wife weren't known, but she would have thought Obi-Wan would have told her Anakin was all right. He knew of their friendship if nothing else.

Padme knew that something wasn't right. Someone should have told her something by now, whether it be Obi-Wan, Anakin or even the holonet. She was more concerned than angry at his lack of contact. She just wanted to know if Anakin was all right. But she was going to be seeing him now and there would doubtless be some explanation for her husband's silence.

The first thing she spotted about Obi-Wan was that he looked tired. There were dark smudges under his eyes and there was a tenseness in him that made him seem all the more weary. Was it possible that he had aged since the last time they'd met? Still, he greeted her with a smile, which was pleasantly genuine.

"Obi-Wan," he felt his arms wrap round her as she pulled him into an embrace, "how are you? You look tired."

The smile was still playing on his lips as they pulled apart, "Yes. I didn't get much sleep last night, but I'm fine," he gestured for her to come in, "and how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Padme answered, a little distractedly as they walked into the apartment. She didn't see Anakin anywhere, nor did she hear him. Was he in the med-centre? This situation seemed to be getting stranger all the time, "How's Anakin?"

There was a perceptible pause, Obi-Wan glancing away only for a second before meeting her gaze again, "Ah yes. Anakin's fine. He isn't injured, if that's what you're worried about," It was difficult not to show the surge of overwhelming relief Padme felt on hearing those words. All she showed was a smile, but all she wanted to do was sink down in a chair and take a moment to fully relieve herself of all the stress she had felt these past two days, "but... Padme. Anakin has changed. And it is going to be a shock when you see him."

Padme didn't speak. The relief rushed out of her as quickly as it had come, leaving nothing but confusion and worry in its wake, emotions she had been far more used to since arriving here. Obi-Wan gave her a reassuring smile, tinged with sympathy, before calling, "Anakin."

She heard the pit-patter of small feet and she turned round slowly. She knew it was him the moment she saw him. Those brilliant blue eyes where what she had always noticed first when looked at Ani. Only somehow they now belonged to those of a small child. He was so small. He looked up at her, tiny (oh, how were they so little?) hands wringing the bottom of his tunic, "Hi Padme."

It was all Padme could do to stop herself sinking to her knees. She stared at him for a moment longer, before taking a step closer to him, "Ani?"

The youngling smiled and nodded, "Mhm."

"You're... _My_ Ani?"

"Uh-huh."

She took a step back, her eyes still fixed on this impossible little boy, "You're... But..." she took a breath, but it didn't calm her down. It didn't transform the three year old before her into the adult that he should be, "you're my husband?"

"What?" her head turned sharply to Obi-Wan. _Obi-Wan_. Padme had genuinely forgotten he was there.

"Oh no."

She watched the Jedi's gaze snap towards his padawan, his eyes were now very, very round.

"Anakin," Padme could feel beneath the forced calm, the almost dangerous quietness of his voice the intense emotion that burned underneath, "is there something you failed to tell me?" Anakin shook his head frantically, taking a step back with every one that Obi-Wan made. The Jedi swooped down, catching the small boy before he ran for it, "Padawan, please tell me Padme is mistaken when she calls you her husband."

Anakin shook his head, pulling at the hand holding his arm, "Nu-uh! Can't!"

"Why not?" Obi-Wan's hand still remained on the boy's arm no matter how hard he pulled.

"Cos you don't like me lying!"

"Padawan-"

"All right," both of them stopped. Padme crouched down, taking both of their arms in her hands, "We are going to sit down and talk about this. All of us," she cut in firmly as Obi-Wan opened his mouth to speak. The woman rose to her feet, bringing up both Master and Padawan with her, their arms still clasped in her grip, "we are _both_ going to get the answers we need."

...

Obi-Wan sat across from Padme and Anakin, his arms resting on his knees. He looked shell shocked, though with the bomb shell of news he received, he could hardly be blamed for his less than dignified countenance. Anakin was married. He should have known. Force, he always knew that he liked her and his padawan was so terrible at hiding his emotions. Still, he didn't think that a crush would evolve into _this,_ a marriage between the two of them.

The Jedi sat, staring at them both; Padme was staring at Anakin and Anakin was doing his best to avoid everyone's gazes. Padme continued to look at him for a moment longer, before turning to Obi-Wan.

"What happened? How did Anakin get like this?"

Obi-Wan stared at his padawan, before looking at Padme, "We don't know how, exactly. A Sith changed him like this. There was some sort of science involved, but we are yet to find out what exactly that was."

Padme glanced back at Anakin, who was still resolutely looking at his feet.

"Is it reversable?"

He sighed, shaking his head, "We don't know yet. We're still yet to find the Sith that did it," he scrubbed a hand across his face. Force, he felt so old, impossibly old. Perhaps all of Anakin's missing years had somehow been added onto his own, "Now. I think I deserve some answers."

Padme nodded, looking slightly defeated as she leant forward on her knees, "We're married."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, his shoulders sinking, "For how long?"

There was a pause, "Two years."

"Two years," he looked up, his eyes wide, "two years?" he turned to Anakin, "you've been lying to me for two years?"

"Couldn't say!" Anakin protested, scowling, "you'd tell the council," a little sadness crept in to his voice, but the defiance, that stubbornness that was so undeniably Anakin still burned stronger.

"Why do it in the first place?!"

"Because we fell in love, Obi-Wan," Padme sighed, "we didn't do it to deceive you, or the rest of our loved ones. Both of our careers could and would be ruined by this. We did it because we fell in love."

"Then you should have listened to your hearts and not your heads," Obi-Wan snapped, his voice uncharacteristically harsh.

"You love me!" Anakin shouted, glaring.

Obi-Wan paused, "That isn't the same thing, Anakin."

"No, it isn't. Your love is easier to hide," Padme's eyes shone, but her voice was brittle, "ours isn't."

"Love is easier kept secret than a marriage," he muttered, "Force, what were you two thinking?!"

"Don't get it!" Anakin shouted, his eyes blazing, "you're not in love!"

"You're supposed to be training to be a Jedi, Anakin. Jedi do not fall in love."

"Jedi don't love padawans either!" Anakin cried, "you love me!"

"That's different," Obi-Wan snapped, "I brought you up!"

"So?!" Anakin cried, "you can love, but I can't?!"

"I didn't lie to you about it!"

"Never said!" Anakin roared, "never told me you loved me, never! Didn't lie, but didn't tell the truth!"

Obi-Wan didn't realise he was standing up until he felt the urge to sit down. He sunk into his chair, his breathing heavy. Anakin did the same, toppling back onto the sofa which he had stood on. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, neither of them looking at each other.

"So, Anakin. What else have you lied to me about? I'm curious to know," The Jedi felt a pinch of guilt at seeing the boy wince at the biting tone, but he didn't let it show, "What else have you done?"

Anakin didn't speak. He looked down at his small feet, his hands wringing the bottom of his tunic. He looked up at Padme and Obi-Wan saw some sort of silent exchange between the two of them, saw her eyes widen and her head shake. The boy slumped back against the sofa and puffed out a sigh, "Can't though," he murmured, "Can't lie any more."

Padme looked defeated. She closed her eyes, drawing a hand across her face and Obi-Wan knew why; because there was no point in arguing with Anakin when his mind was made up. Unless you could physically stop him, which she couldn't, you might as well give up.

Anakin gulped, looking anywhere but his master, "Was after Mom died," he grabbed hold of Padme's hand, "I... I was angry and sad. And..." he looked down at his knees, "I killed everyone."

There was silence. Obi-Wan stared at him, unable to move. Out of all the words he had expected to come out of that youngling's mouth, those were not the ones he had anticipated. He stared at Anakin, absently wondering whether his heart was still working because it felt like it had stopped.

"What?"

"I killed them," the voice was so small, so timid, Obi-Wan had half a mind to disregard the words that it carried, but he knew their truth and it weighed down on him, a weight he'd never had to bear before. His padawan. His _child_ was a killer? He'd committed genocide? The Jedi wanted so badly to not believe it, to disregard all of the words that had come out of his mouth, but he couldn't. He decided he couldn't look at him any longer; he looked so innocent for one who had done so much. He didn't want to say what he felt; Anakin was still three years old and he didn't want to start screaming at a child. He needed to get out, needed to think, the room suddenly becoming so much more stuffy and small than it had ever been before.

Obi-Wan rose to his feet making his way to the door before Anakin rushed in front of him, "Going?"

"Get out of my way, Anakin."

"No!" the boy cried, tears pooling in his eyes, "T-talk!"

"What else is there to say?" Obi-Wan shook his head, fighting back his own emotions that threatened to rise up in him, "I don't know you, do I?"

"Course you do!" Anakin cried desperately, a few tears spilling onto his cheeks, "'m your padawan!"

"Are you? Would my padawan do this? Go against my teachings? Commit _genocide_?!" It hurt to watch the boy, hurt to even look at him. He could see the guilt and pain in him, see all of those turbulent emotions he should have got rid of years ago and he wanted, more than anything, he wanted to make them go away, to make Anakin better because that was his job. But he couldn't. Not this time.

"You killed, Anakin. You killed innocent people! The boy I know would never do that! He would never commit such a heinous crime, no matter what had happened!" Obi-Wan didn't realise he was shouting until he stopped. Anakin was practically cowering. He was scared. He was scaring his youngling and it was killing him, "you're not the boy I raised. I don't know who you are any more."

Obi-Wan could see it, he could feel the child's heart breaking into pieces. He looked so utterly lost. There was a voice in his head screaming that of course he knew who he was, that he still loved Anakin, that he would always be his padawan. But he didn't listen. He ignored the tears on his youngling's cheeks as he walked past him and left.

Anakin stood there for a moment, hands gripping his tunic, his breathing very shallow. He didn't move, a few tears dripping of his chin as he stared into nothingness. Then, his face broke. He let out a wail, an awful, pained howl and his legs crumpled beneath him. He sat there whilst loud, guttural sobs rattled his frame.

Padme watched for only a second, before rising to her feet. She knelt down beside him and pulled him into her arms, letting him bury his face against her shoulder whilst she held him tight. She didn't speak, she didn't want to give him false comfort or hope because she had never seen Obi-Wan like that, especially not with Anakin. She wanted to say, more than anything, that he would come back, but how could she, when she honestly didn't know whether he would or not?

...

The apartment was quiet, almost eerily so. The only sound was the hum of traffic outside and Anakin's snuffles, faint and distant from his bedroom. Obi-Wan wasn't used to it being so silent, the silence seeming all the more heavier from how loud they had been a few hours previous. Neither him nor Padme were looking at each other, neither of them broaching a conversation. They stood in the kitchen, both looking somewhere else other than each other.

"How long have you known?" Padme looked up. The soft snuffles of his sleeping padawan were accompanied by a gentle scratching sound as Obi-Wan stroked his beard. The anger was gone from his countenance, but what took its place, Padme couldn't say. Jedi were good at hiding their emotions to the extent where it was unnerving. She had always been thankful Anakin did not share such powers of concealment.

"As soon as he brought back his mother, he told me," she sighed, "if I thought it would have done good, Obi-Wan, I would have made him tell you. But we were both scared you would tell the Council," she pulled a chair out and sat down, resting her head in her hands, "it wouldn't have done anyone good if Anakin left the Jedi Order. That's why we thought it would be best kept a secret."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, before taking up a chair of his own, "I..." his shoulders sunk and he hung his head, "I don't know what to do."

There was a vulnerability in his voice that Padme was so unused to. She only seen such cracks spire across his mask of calm when they were at Qui-Gon Jinn's funeral. Master Kenobi had always been so strong, but of course he had to be. He was the one who had to bring up Anakin, but how he had managed it, she didn't know. He had lost everything and was somehow expected to raise a boy he hardly knew. When was the last time he could afford to be vulnerable?

"What would happen if you brought him in to the Council?" Padme asked gently.

"Most likely he would be expelled from the Order," he answered wearily.

"And who would benefit from the Chosen One's expulsion."

"No one," the Jedi sighed, "But... he has to pay for his crimes, Padme."

She nodded, "All right, I agree. But... not right now. He's only a child. It wouldn't be fair. I'm not saying that you should forget about it or say that he's forgiven, but I don't think it would do either of you any good to battle this out now. He's... at this moment, he's not the boy who committed those crimes. He isn't my husband. He's a youngling."

Obi-Wan ran a hand through his hair, looking more tired than ever, "It won't be easy."

"No, it won't," Padme agreed, "but I think it will be better to deal with it when he can fully explain himself. But now he can't. You need to let him defend himself when he's in an appropriate state of mind."

Obi-Wan nodded, staying silent for a minute or two, "And what do I say to him now?" he looked up and she saw a kind of desperation in his eyes, "I didn't mean what I said to him," it was almost like he was pleading with her, asking her to believe him as though he needed an affirmation that he was saying was indeed true, "I didn't."

"I know," Padme rested a hand on his arm, "but he doesn't. You need to tell him that."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, hiding his face in one palm, "The things I said, Padme... They broke his heart."

He felt her small hand squeeze tight, "That doesn't mean it can't be fixed."

They heard a dull thud from the next room. Padme smiled a little, "He's up," Obi-Wan watched as she rose to her feet, "I'll get him and I'll leave you two to talk," she walked round the table, pausing, before wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, "It will be fine," she murmured, squeezing before pulling away, "it will."

"And if it isn't?"

She smiled, "Either of you can hide away at mine should you need to. Ani's done it enough times when trying to avoid you."

Obi-Wan groaned, "I knew he had a secret hideaway somewhere. I hope you realise that because of you, he must owe me over a hundred meditation sessions by now."

"Sorry," Padme grinned, "I'll have to make sure to lock him out when you need him."

"Please do," Obi-Wan murmured, smiling a little. He watched, as she entered Anakin's room, taking a deep, (and what was supposed to be) calming breath. There was a few minutes of quiet murmurings, accompanied by short silences. Then the door opened. The Jedi stood, stepping out of the kitchen to find Anakin almost immediately in front of him. Both stumbled backwards, both pointedly looking at anywhere other than each other. The awful, heavy silence returned, bearing down on them thicker than ever.

Anakin glanced up only momentarily as his master knelt before him. The man doubted that Anakin would appreciate being talked down to.

"Anakin-" What? Sorry? Sorry didn't seem to be enough this time, on either side. Obi-Wan fell silent again. What was he supposed to say? How could he possibly begin to explain, to make this up to him?

"I never talked to you about Qui-Gon's death, did I?" Anakin looked up, staring at his master almost warily, as though it was some kind of trick. The boy clearly couldn't see where Obi-Wan was going, so he continued, "I mean... I told you what happened, but we never actually talked. We didn't discuss it."

Slowly, not sure whether he wanted an answer, Anakin shook his head.

"I killed that Sith. And everyone was so proud of me. They couldn't believe that a padawan as young as me could take down a creature so powerful... But they didn't know that I wanted that Sith dead. I didn't want justice for my master's death, I wanted to avenge him. That creature had taken the closet thing I had ever had to a parent and I hated him for it," he looked up at the small boy before him, his eyes bright, "I didn't deserve the praise because I didn't kill that Sith as a Jedi. I killed him as an angry, terrified man who'd lost his father."

Obi-Wan cupped Anakin's cheeks in both of his hands, staring deep into his eyes, "I'm not excusing your actions, nor am I ignoring them. But I want you to know that I understand, Anakin. I understand the pain of losing someone you love. It's like the world's come to an end and it doesn't matter who you take your pain out on because they aren't as important as the person you lost. I killed a Sith in rage and anger, but if there had been a hundred of them, for there were innocents standing in my way... I dare say my actions wouldn't differ too much from yours," He took in a shuddering breath, tears burning in his eyes, "I should have told you. When you were having dreams about your mother I should have told you what grief can do to you. I should have talked to you, not at you. I should have acted as something more than your master."

Anakin's small hands were gripping his own larger ones, his round blue eyes shining up at his master, "It hurt," he choked, "it hurt. But..." he pressed his face against man's hand as a tear slid down his face, "c-couldn't say cos... Thought you'd be mad at me.Y-you said... No emotions."

"And I didn't follow that rule, Anakin!" Obi-Wan said bringing their faces impossibly close, "I tried to make you bend to something even your master didn't obey. It was cruel and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being the master you needed, I'm sorry for everything that I said."

Anakin shook his head, tears now rolling down his cheeks, "'No... 'm sorry. It... It's all my fault!"

"No, Anakin. I should have been a better master to you. When it comes to us you have nothing to be sorry for."

"Never listened!" Anakin cried, "Was... bossy and stupid and I hurt you!"

"That's what happens when people love each other," Obi-Wan said softly, thumbing away his tears, "All children hurt their parents. But we know they don't mean it. We know that and we forgive them for it. But I hurt you too and I'm sorry," he blinked back his own tears, refusing to let them fall, "I didn't mean the things I said. I didn't mean a word, little one."

The tiny hands on Obi-Wan's clung to him tight, his eyes so incredibly intense for one so young, "'m I still your padawan?"

Obi-Wan choked on a sob. Why didn't Qui-Gon ever tell him being a master would be this hard? "Of course you are," he croaked, tears melting away into his beard, "you will always be my padawan, Anakin." The youngling flung his arms around Obi-Wan's neck, the Jedi wrapping his arms around him tight and pulling him up to his chest, "I love you," his voice was muffled as he buried his face against the boy's shoulder, "but I should have said sooner," he squeezed his eyes tight shut.

"'s not your fault," Anakin hiccuped, "you were sad. You lost Qui-Gon. D-didn't know what to do."

"That's no excuse."

"Is so!" Anakin cried, pulling back a little to hit his master's shoulder. His cheeks were tear ridden and his lower lip wobbled dangerously, but Obi-Wan could still see the stubbornness burn there, "wasn't your fault. You had no one."

"I had you."

"Didn't know it," the youngling sniffled, wiping his tear stained cheek in spite of the few already falling, "I forgive you. Wasn't your fault."

Obi-Wan sucked in a shaky breath, "Do you really?"

The boy nodded, "I love you," he said, as though that was explanation enough.

The Jedi smiled a little, "That isn't quite the same thing, padawan. You might feel different when you're older."

Anakin shook his head, sniffling, "Hope not," he looked down at where his own tiny hands were gripping his master's front, "'m sorry I never said."

Obi-Wan shook his head, "I'm sorry I made you feel as though you couldn't tell me. I'm your master. I'm supposed to be the one you come running to, not the one you run away from," he wiped away the remaining tears, pressing a kiss to the boy's forehead.

"What're you gonna do?" Anakin asked, sniffling.

"Right now?" Obi-Wan pulled his legs out from underneath him and sat on the floor, the boy still in his lap, "nothing. Right now, I don't think there's anything to do," he stroked the blonde locks with a gentle hand, "you're only three. You're not old enough to deal with these issues right now."

"Am so!" Anakin declared, "I did them!"

"When you were nineteen, padawan," Obi-Wan murmured, "and now you're three. It would be unfair to do anything in this state."

Anakin thought about it for a moment, "But you still love me?" he asked cautiously, "even if you're still cross?"

Obi-Wan nodded, "I will always love you, Anakin. I dread to think of what it would take to pull my love for you from my heart," he offered the boy a smile, "but so far, nothing has succeeded in doing so."

...

"He sleeps a lot, doesn't he?" Padme spoke, looking at the small boy slumped against Obi-Wan.

"Children tend to do that," Obi-Wan murmured, smiling a little.

Padme returned the smile, watching as the orange Coruscanti sun shone on them, turning Anakin's locks golden and Obi-Wan's amber. Her own gleamed like dark water, "I still can't quite believe it's him."

Obi-Wan nodded, "It's surprising how little I think on how he's changed. I suppose I just went along with it."

"You had to," Padme smiled, "he wasn't going to stop just because you were shocked."

Obi-Wan nodded. They sat in a comfortable silence for a time, watching the sunk slowly sink, setting the glittering spires ablaze with it's rays, "What is like? Being married to him?"

Padme didn't answer for a moment, "Hard. Hard hiding it. Hard trying to come up with explanations of why you're so happy one day, but so miserable the next," she glanced down at her hands, "no one else knows. I couldn't even tell my family," Padme sunk against the sofa, "in all honesty, it's a relief to talk to someone about it. You can't talk to your husband about your own marriage."

"And what's Anakin like?" the senator looked up at him, smiling gently at his questions. She didn't blame him for his curiosity- it was a side of his padawan that he never seen before.

"Overprotective. Annoyingly, at times. He knows he can never stop me from doing my job, but I don't think he wants to. I just think he's scared about me getting hurt," she smiled a little, "and he's kind. And flattering, constantly. He's always so happy that he's with me, it's almost like he can't really believe that it's actually happened."

Obi-Wan shook his head, "That sounds like him," he looked down at the slumbering child, "he's reckless, stubborn, angry and at times idiotic. But he's always kind, no one can deny him that."

Padme watched him, tilting her head slightly, "When did you first know that you loved him?"

The man ran a gentle hand through the shining locks, "When he was ten. He stumbled into my room at three in the morning, half dazed and sick with fever," he closed his eyes, "until then, I'd never felt fear like it. It's the fear of someone who is under your total care and protection, someone so helpless that you're the only one who they can depend on," she watched his body stiffen with discomfort, "Anakin slipped into a coma that he didn't come out of for four days. I was sure he was going to die. I didn't leave his side, I refused, despite everyone's best attempts to dissuade me from staying," he looked up at her, "it was when he woke up that I realised. It was then I knew that if I lost him, it would break me, that I would do anything in my power to make sure he was all right," Obi-Wan smiled slightly, "when he came to, Anakin thought he was dreaming because he'd never seen me cry before. I hadn't cried since I lost Qui-Gon, but I did then."

Padme stayed silent, both of their gazes now fixed on the slumbering youngling, "I remember Qui-Gon," she murmured, smiling fondly, "I remember I'd watch you two whenever I had the chance because I found both you so fascinating. I'd never seen Jedi before," she looked up at Obi-Wan, "I don't suppose you ever knew, because he'd always do it when you were looking away. But... there were times when Qui-Gon would look at you the way you look at Anakin," the man didn't move for a moment, his eyes staring, before slowly looking up. His eyes were bright, almost shimmering, before his eyes moved back to his youngling.

"Really?" he whispered, voice hoarse.

She smiled and nodded, "Really," she pointedly looked away, giving him time to wipe his cheeks, to gain a little of his precious composure. When Padme turned back, she was rewarded with a grateful smile. She grinned a little and shook her head, "You Jedi. You know, this order may create some of the galaxy's greatest warriors, but you also bring out some of the most emotionally stunted people I have ever met."

Obi-Wan laughed, so loudly Anakin woke, giving him a sleepy scowl before dropping back asleep, "Perhaps you should tell the council. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to hear such an opinionated view."

"I doubt that they would listen to me, but thank you," she chortled. She glanced at her watch and sighed, "I should go. I have to meet with some members of the senate," Padme rose to her feet, smiling at the small boy curled up by his master, "give him my love from me?"

Obi-Wan nodded, "I will," carefully, so as not to wake up Anakin, he rose to his feet, pulling her into an embrace, "take care, Padme. And thank you."

"That's all right, Obi-Wan," Padme glanced at Anakin, "I don't need to tell you to look after him. But... Just do me one favour," she rested a hand on his shoulder, "try looking after yourself too."


	9. Rips and Disasters

Hi! thank you all again for the feedback I got, it means a lot! My updates may be slow as it is getting nearer and nearer to exams and I have coursework to do, but I will try to update as much as I can. This chapter is a bit long, I really hope it isn't too long and that you enjoy ^^

Morana- Thank you so much for reviewing! I agree, if Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship had been better, then a whole lot could have been avoided. I think their main issue was that they simply couldn't be open with each other because of the issues with emotions.

Guest- Thank you so much for reviewing, I'm so glad you like my story so much 3

Disclaimers- I own nothing still.

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It was early; streams of sunlight spilled through the gaps of Obi-Wan's curtains, illuminating the spiralling swirls of dust slowly moving in and out of the beams of light. The Jedi knew he should try to get more sleep, that he would need all the energy he could get when it came to the small youngling curled up at his side. When Anakin was energetic, you needed to mirror that energy, if not have more, just to keep up with him.

Nothing seemed to phase him, at least not for long. The nightmares, of which there were even more last night, fell away with every sunrise. Sometimes he would be more put out by more of the disturbing ones and there were mornings where Obi-Wan had to walk around carrying Anakin because he simply refused to let his master out of his grip. But even after that, he would soon have boundless energy. It was a wonder he could control him at all the way he was so easily excitable.

He needed sleep to handle him, but Obi-Wan didn't want to go back to sleep. He needed this too, this calm, easy silence. He got so little time to himself that he needed to savour these moments. Even now, he wasn't by himself, but he didn't mind the constant companionship and the last thing he wanted was to let Anakin out of his sight in this state. But times like this, times of silence, were still needed. He could think now, though the topics he needed to think about weren't particularly the ones he wanted in his head.

Padme had told him to talk to Anakin about what yesterday had brought up when he was older and Obi-Wan agreed, but still, he remained worried. What exactly did this mean in terms of their relationship? Anakin wasn't who he thought he was. The boy had been lying to him for two years and that knowledge hurt. It wasn't just the fact that he had been lied to; it was that he had made Anakin feel that the only option he had left was to lie. He wasn't able to talk to his own master.

How long had these dark feelings and thoughts been festering in him? How strong had they grown under ignorance and neglect? The Dark had slowly been pulling Anakin further and further away from the Light for a long time now, only Obi-Wan didn't have the perception to notice it. He felt the change though, when he first met Anakin after he had been transformed.

The Jedi didn't want to acknowledge it, wanted to ignore just how much Anakin had changed. Because it wasn't only his body that had become different, but his presence. As a child, he was Light. He belonged more to the Light than he had done for years. His change to the Dark Side had been so gradual, so slow, that it had gone almost unnoticed, but now it couldn't be ignored, not when Anakin felt so incredibly different to before.

Obi-Wan didn't know why his transformation would turn his padawan back to the Light. Maybe it was because younglings were innocent. They weren't corrupted and though Anakin still had those same feelings and memories, they were filtered through a child's mind. Or perhaps being a child gave Anakin the freedom to let go of all of those destructive feelings and welcome in the Light, to absorb it without question. Whether he could ever be changed back or not, whoever had turned Anakin into a youngling for whatever reason had done him a favour.

Obi-Wan could only hope he would stay like this when, if, he was turned back. He almost didn't want him to. That would mean confronting a whole mess of issues that he did not want to get started on. They'd have to address his marriage, his crimes and with that, probably their whole relationship.

It was hard to believe the small child sleeping at his side had done such terrible, heinous things. He was so innocent, so pure, yet he had blood on his hands still. It made him wonder, how differently he would have reacted if Anakin had told him at nineteen years old? Perhaps Anakin had good reason to keep his crimes a secret. Would he have turned him in to the Council? Would he have kept it a secret between them? Will he when he's grown up? And would he have said all the things he had told him yesterday? Would they have even talked about it?

Obi-Wan didn't know. The possibilities of what could have been, the uncertainties he harboured worried him and they brought up another question that made him feel sick: was he such a bad master that he made his own padawan feel like he couldn't come for help? Because it wasn't as though he told no one; he felt comfortable enough to tell Padme, but not the man who raised him? Perhaps it was because the boy knew that if he told Obi-Wan then he would be punished, but it was more than that.

They didn't talk. Not about things like this. Obi-Wan lectured and Anakin half listened, but that wasn't discussing it. Emotions and feelings were just yet another Jedi teaching his padawan didn't learn. Until now, the Jedi had thought that the boy refused to obey his master, that he went against his teachings because he was rebellious, because he didn't want to let go of his feelings. He knew now that he didn't listen, didn't try to get rid of his attachments and emotions not because he didn't want to, but because he _couldn't_. How could he, when all he had known up to that point was his mother's love?

The first nine years of his life was practically one big traumatic experience, one which wasn't discussed with anyone. Force, the boy didn't even get any form of counselling for his experience in slavery, they just went on with his teachings like he was any ordinary youngling. Everyone acknowledged that he was different, but no one did enough to accommodate for it.

They did at first, but soon all of his teachers expected him to act and think like the other padawans. But of course, how could he? How could be expected to act in a way that was instinct to the rest of his peers. He didn't just have to learn how the Jedi teachings, he had to learn how to think and feel like a Jedi. And that wasn't fair, to expect a homesick boy who was light years away from the one person who had ever mattered to him to accomplish these things. And he was expected to forget about her.

Children need to be loved. Anakin needed it so badly and all he had left was a person who didn't really want him, through no fault of his own. Yet, that didn't matter. Because he was all Anakin had. And so, Obi-Wan became his parent, his teacher, his master, his brother and over time his friend. Obi-Wan did not mean to bring him up like he was his own. He meant to be a master just like all of the others, but he was so lost. He was practically a boy himself and no one had told him how to be a master; and the only person who could have guided him was the one he had lost. Though it was a horrible truth for a Jedi to realise, he needed to somebody to love too and to love him in return. And who better than a youngling who was all the more willing to give his heart to anyone who would take it.

They had both lost so much, all they could do was cling to one another. It was no one's fault. They were both so wrapped in grief that even though they both resented the other for not being the person they truly wanted, even though they didn't want the situation they found themselves in, they had no choice but to depend one another. They were all each other had. And love simply made their bond stronger.

Only, their bond would always be fractured. Because Obi-Wan did love Anakin, but he was more than aware of the rules and dangers of attachment. So, he turned away, closed himself off. Maybe if he had turned his padawan away without feeling, then maybe it would have been easier. But there was feeling there. He rejected Anakin even though he was the thing most dearest to him. Anakin knew that he loved him, knew why he never said, but hated that he never did. It was a betrayal he wasn't sure Anakin would ever forgive.

The boy was more than willing to give his Master all the love he possibly could, but he wasn't given that assurance in return. Instead, what he got were lectures on attachments and empty platitudes on emotions. He was told not to feel, to pretend. In a way, Obi-Wan was the one who taught Anakin to lie, not only to his master, but to himself. He couldn't get rid of the attachments so he hid, he pretended, because there was nothing else to do. He couldn't accept how he felt, so he acted like he didn't feel at all. Perhaps Anakin wouldn't want to change back either. Being so young gave him a sort of freedom he hadn't had since he was a slave.

"Mhmm..." Obi-Wan blinked, looking down to see a sleepy padawan look up at him, "Mas'er?"

"It's all right, Anakin," he soothed, stroking his soft hair, "go back to sleep."

"Worried," he mumbled, rubbing at one eye with his fist.

"I didn't put up my shields," Obi-Wan muttered, running a hand across his face, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. Everything's fine, really."

Anakin stared at him, tilting his head, still looking exhausted, "'m your padawan."

Obi-Wan cupped his cheek, sighing, "I know you are, little one. As I'm your master."

The youngling smiled a little, slumping back against his master, "Needed to check," he explained, his eyes closing.

Obi-Wan felt a painful sting at this and he sighed, "You don't need to check. You will always be my padawan, Anakin."

"Not always," the boy mumbled, "'ll be Jedi one day."

The Jedi smiled, "All right. You will always be my youngling. And I will always be your master and will always look after you."

The youngling gave him a wide, sleepy smile, "love you, Mas'er," he yawned, already falling back asleep.

Obi-Wan rubbed his back, sinking back against the pillows, his eyes falling on the sunlight once more. Padme was right. He couldn't dwell on these thoughts whilst Anakin was like this. Anakin would know exactly what would be on his mind and it wouldn't be fair to either of them to bring up an issue that at this point couldn't be resolved. He wasn't the man who had killed, who had lied, betrayed. He was a youngling. He could feel the boy's innocence, his purity, his light and Obi-Wan didn't want to stain it whilst his padawan still so good. He drew the covers round the sleeping boy's shoulders, murmuring, "And I love you, Anakin."

...

Obi-Wan managed to get back to sleep eventually. Because of Anakin's restless nights, it meant that they were getting more lie ins as the boy needed more sleep, a luxury that he had never been able to indulge whilst Anakin was his padawan. Jedi always got up early- there was simply too much to do in the day that meant they couldn't afford to sleep in, something which Anakin had always disliked. He had had too many forced mornings under Watto's control to be able to appreciate them any more and was always begging for more time to sleep and later mornings. So it was rather ironic that now he was a youngling and could get all the sleep in the world not only because he wanted it, but because he needed it, that he now woke Obi-Wan up early. All children are early risers and Anakin was no exception

"Anakin," he groaned as he felt the boy's finger poke at his cheek, "you know, there are far more pleasant ways to wake up your master then prodding at him like he's one of your droids."

"Don't prod droids," he could practically hear the boys scowl in his voice, "fix them."

"Yes, but you have to find out what part of them is broken to fix them, don't you?" Obi-Wan sighed, turned onto his side he could look at the boy sitting by him, his precious bantha on his lap, "I thought you would have done that by poking at them?"

Anakin rolled his eyes, looking exasperated beyond belief with his master's lack of knowledge on mechanics, "Don't poke droids! You... you just don't!"

Obi-Wan shook his head, "Still, should I wake you up every day like this?" he began to jab gently at the boy's cheek, his hand being slapped away almost instantly, "see?" he smirked a little, sitting up, "it isn't nice, is it?"

"No," Anakin conceded sulkily, looking down at Markyle.

"No need to pout, my young padawan," Obi-Wan smiled, swinging his legs off the bed and rising to his feet.

"Don't pout!" Anakin protested, raising his arms, signalling he wanted to be picked up.

The Jedi grinned and shook his head, "I don't know what you'll do when you're older, you know," he said, lifting the boy into his arms, balancing him on his hip, "I won't be able to carry you around all the time, even if you are tired."

Anakin looked rather sad at this piece of news, "What... not ever?" he asked, looking at his master morosely.

"Well, you'd be a lot bigger and heavier, little one. It won't be very easy for me."

"You're strong!" Anakin pointed out.

"True, but even if I could carry you around all the time, I doubt you'll want me to when you're older."

"Don't carry me around _all_ the time," Anakin protested as his master placed him on his seat at the table, "just when I'm tired."

Obi-Wan shrugged, "Fair point."

Anakin paused for a moment, "Master?"

"Hm?"

"What'll happen if I don't get older?" Obi-Wan turned, seeing the apprehension and worry in the boys eyes. The question had clearly never come to him before, "Will I still be with you?"

Obi-Wan nodded, "I see no reason why you shouldn't be," he offered a reassuring smile, "I'm sure that we can reverse this, but if we can't, I will continue to train you as my padawan."

Anakin's shoulders sagged with relief. But then, "I'd have to grow up again!" the boy exclaimed, sounding rather disgusted at the thought, "I'd have to learn everything again!"

"Well, not everything. It isn't as though you've forgotten everything now, is it?"

Anakin huffed out a sigh, "Still, have to lightsaber train again."

"Well, hopefully it won't have to come to that, Anakin," Obi-Wan smiled, patting his shoulder, "we should be able to reverse it, so try not to worry about what may not even happen."

Anakin nodded, thinking, "You... wouldn't mind?"

"Mind what?"

Anakin tilted his head, staring at him, "bringing me up again?"

Obi-Wan blinked, before shaking his head, smiling, "I didn't mind the first time."

"But... it'd take a long time," Anakin played with Markyle's horns, looking thoughtful, "you wouldn't get to do missions and stuff for years," his eyes grew round, "That's ages!"

Obi-Wan sat down, cupping the boy's cheek with his palm, "Anakin, it is my job to bring you up. As my master, that is what I'm meant to do. There are no rules or restrictions on how many times or how long it takes. Even if it wasn't my duty to teach you, I would still train you. I promised you that I would and I don't break promises easily. And... in all honesty I wouldn't want you under the care of another master, nor do I think you would."

Anakin frowned at the thought, shaking his head, "Other masters wouldn't like me," he said, before smiling, "we're family!" he leaned forward, pressing his hands over Obi-Wan's heart, "we've got a bond. Can't ever break that! 's why you'll _always_ have to be my master!"

Obi-Wan's smile shone, his eyes glittering. The two small hands pressed against his chest were encompassed by one palm. A part of him wished that it would it always be this simple, "That's right, Anakin. That is why I will always be your master."

...

Obi-Wan was more than grateful to Bail for giving Anakin that present. For one, it meant that he was actually allowed to clean up the mess of odds and ends sitting in the middle of their living room (all previous attempts had ended with Anakin practically spread eagled on the pile in the attempt to save it from the tyranny of his cruel master), though mainly it was because Anakin loved drawing so much.

It was strange; before Bail had come, he'd never seen his padawan take any interest in art. Perhaps it was because he never had the opportunity when he was still with his mother to find his interest in drawing. Another reason the Jedi was so grateful, (or at least he thought that it was a valid reason at the time) was that he had thought that it would keep Anakin cleaner.

But no, drawing didn't make the youngling any cleaner. It just meant that instead of oil stains, he now had to scrub off ink and paint, which somehow managed to get everywhere on him. Obi-Wan didn't know just how his padawan continued to be so messy, but he did. He'd call it a skill if it had a use for anything. Maybe it was a ploy to get Obi-Wan to give him more baths, which really wouldn't surprise him all that much, since the boy had a fascination with water he had never seen in a person before, youngling or not.

"Anakin, how is it that when you're drawing something on paper, which is on the floor, that you manage to get paint on your face?" Obi-Wan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Anakin shrugged, "I don't know," he thought for a moment, "must be magic."

"Magic paint?" The Jedi's eyebrow rose higher.

"Uh-huh. It likes me more than paper," Anakin replied smiling up at him.

Obi-Wan snorted and shook his head, "Well, it also seems to like your tunic as well," he reached down and began to pull the youngling's tunic up, Anakin instantly complying and lifting up his arms, "you're a lot easier to wash than your clothes," he said, standing back up, "but try not to be too enthusiastic with the paintbrush, Anakin."

"I won't!" the boy chimed, flashing a grin at him before hunching over his painting again, his face bearing a look of intense concentration.

"Aren't you worried about painting Markyle?" Obi-Wan asked, sitting at the table whilst glancing at the bantha sitting by Anakin's side.

Anakin shook his head, not looking up from his important work, "No, he's fine," he murmured, "he doesn't mind paint."

Obi-Wan shook his head, looking down at his datapad, "Now why doesn't that surprise me?"

They sat in a comfortable silence, Obi-Wan reading reports on their progress in the war whilst the kitchen floor slowly began to get covered with Anakin's paintings. If they had carried on like that throughout the day, the entire kitchen floor would doubtless have been lost with all under all of the paintings. But as it happened, by the time Anakin was on his way to filling up a quarter of the kitchen floor, he stopped.

"Master?"

"Mm?" Obi-Wan hummed distractedly, not looking up.

"Can I see Chanc'lor Palpatine today?"

The Jedi paused, before looking up at his waiting padawan. He couldn't help but grin at the sight of him. Paint was smeared over his chest and face, looking like a crude attempt to put on war paint. Obi-Wan couldn't help envision a snarling, wild Anakin off on a jungle planet somewhere, brandishing a makeshift spear at some unassuming explorer. "Er, why, Anakin?" he asked, trying to keep a straight face and dismiss the image from his mind.

The boy shrugged, "Haven't visited him. And I wanna see him," Anakin looked up and frowned in thought as the smile fell from his master's face, "You don't like him."

It wasn't a question. Obi-Wan stroked his beard, "It isn't that, Anakin," he murmured, thinking of how he could illustrate to his padawan the issues involving the Chancellor. The boy had bias, he knew that, so he couldn't really blame him for not being more wary. It would almost be like the Council asking Anakin to be cautious of Padme almost. But there was something about him, something unexplainable that Obi-Wan simply did not like. He didn't trust him, neither did the Council and he didn't know how he felt about leaving his padawan alone with him in this state. Of course, he didn't think Palpatine would actually do anything, but it was just placing a child, his child, into the care of someone untrustworthy that made him nervous, "I just... he's a politician."

"You don't like pol'ticians," Anakin said, rolling his eyes.

"I just think we should be cautious, that's all," Obi-Wan explained.

"Padme," he pointed out, frowning.

"There is always an exception to every rule," Obi-Wan replied calmly, "but Chancellor Palpatine is a lot more powerful than Padme is and power is a dangerous thing.

"He's not dangerous," the youngling protested. He thought for a moment, "if I promise to be careful, can I see him?" his master raised a sceptical eyebrow, "Please," he whined, "I promise I'll be careful."

The Jedi sighed. He doubted he would be able to stop the boy even if he said no anyway. He was far too stubborn for his own good, "All right," he conceded, "but we have to check first. He is a very busy man, you know and he did only return from his trip today."

"Thank you, Master!" Anakin exclaimed, flashing his master a huge grin.

Obi-Wan laughed a little, shaking his head, "It's all right. Though I think we should clean you up a little beforehand don't you?" he nodded at the boy, who looked down at his colourful front, "I don't think the chancellor would appreciate a wildling turning up on his doorstep."

Anakin's eyes grew round. He shot up, nearly upsetting the glass of murky water and paintbrushes beside him, "Bath?!"

The Jedi winced a little at his padawan's shouting, but chortled all the same, "Yes, Anakin," he grinned, rising to his feet, "I can give you a bath now."

...

Obi-Wan hadn't always been a patient man. He had once been reckless, eager to jump into the fray (though if he told his padawan that he doubted he would believe him), but he had learnt, over the years, how to control that readiness, to condense it, master it. After all, waiting around was what mostly consisted of being a good negotiator. You had to wait, had to learn, had hold back, had to be patient. It was a pity Anakin had never listened carefully enough to that particular lesson.

Yet still, Obi-Wan understood. He knew that urge to rush in, to get it over with. It was an urge he felt now. He was stood out side of Palpatine's office, waiting for his padawan to re-emerge from his chambers. Anakin had said he would be half an hour, but he was ten minutes late now. The Jedi wouldn't care so much if it wasn't Palpatine who was stealing his padawan's time. He felt uneasy; he knew that he shouldn't, that it was foolishness. There was being wary and then there was plain paranoia. But it was Anakin and oh, how Obi-Wan was aware, painfully aware of his padawan's vulnerability. It may be unnecessary worry, but he could not help it.

He looked up as the door opened, his padawan stepping out into the corridor. Anakin shut it, before spotting Obi-Wan and running to him, slamming into his legs. Obi-Wan smiled in relief, resting his hand on the youngling's head, his face pressed against his shins.

"Anakin?" he asked, frowning a little when he didn't let go, "is something the matter?"

Anakin looked up and shook his head, "No," he murmured, squeezing the man's legs tight, "just want a hug."

"Well, as far as I know, legs can't give hugs," he said, reaching down and lifting the boy up to his chest, "but arms can."

Anakin nodded, wrapping his arms around his neck and hiding his face against it's crook. The Jedi held him tight, allowing unwarranted relief to flood through him.

"Anakin, are you sure you're all right?" Obi-Wan asked, glancing with difficulty at the youngling clinging to him. He felt a nod rub against his cheek. He began to walk, Anakin not moving from his position. "you're very quiet." Another nod. Something was wrong. If this meeting had gone well, Anakin would without a doubt be nattering on by Obi-Wan's side about what a good time he had had and what they had talked about. But the boy wasn't talking and his grip on his master was like a vice, "Did something happen?"

Slowly, Anakin pulled his face away, though he was still holding onto his master as tight as ever. "No," he mumbled, "nothing happened."

"Didn't you have a nice time?"

"Uh-huh," the boy looked rather forlorn, a rather unwelcome change from the animated youngling Obi-Wan was with before.

"But...?"

"But..." Anakin looked round, before murmured in the Jedi's ear, "I don't think Chanc'lor likes me any more."

"Oh?" Obi-Wan frowned, "and why's that?"

"He was..." Anakin's brow creased in thought, "busy."

"Busy?"

He nodded, "Mh-hm. Not looking at me much."

Obi-Wan mouthed the word, trying to decipher what his padawan meant, "Do you mean... distracted?"

"Uh-huh. And he didn't feel very happy."

"What did he feel like?"

"Thinking," Anakin murmured, "worried. And..." he huffed out an irritated sigh, "can't explain," he muttered, scowling, "but... makes me feel weird."

"What, the Chancellor does?"

Anakin nodded, "Don't know why though," he eased his arms that were so tight around the Jedi's neck and rested his head on his shoulder, "but he doesn't make me feel right."

Obi-Wan rubbed his back, walking on in silence as this new information rolled over in his mind. Why on earth would Chancellor Palpatine make Anakin feel that way? And why would he be distracted by Anakin's presence. His friend had mysteriously turned into a three year old, surely that would mean the man would be anything but distracted? Whatever he had done to make Anakin feel this way, it had had a strong effect on the boy. He didn't think he had seen him so put out since before his transformation.

"Did he say or do anything in particular?"

The boy shook his head, "'s just a feeling. Being there made me feel weird, nothing he did or said."

Obi-Wan paused for a moment outside their door, before opening it and walking inside. He sat at the table, easing the youngling onto his lap, "Anakin, do you think this feeling is anything you can resolve or figure out?"

"No," Anakin mumbled.

"Then, my advice is don't think about it," he ran his fingers through his hair, "if you can't fix it, then for the time being, you might as well just leave it alone."

"You sure?" Anakin asked, tilting his head a little.

"Yes, Anakin. It's no use you thinking on it if it all it will do is make you miserable," the Jedi smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "so, you're going to cheer yourself up by drawing me a picture," he lifted the boy off his lap and onto the floor, "and I will make us lunch."

...

"Master! You need to fix him now!" Obi-Wan rose an eyebrow at the small boy frowning up at him, his loud voice filled with obstinate determination. He held up the stuffed bantha, the white stuffing clearly showing through a rip in the soft, furry belly. The Jedi picked it up, glancing it over with a sceptical eye.

"Anakin, it isn't a very big tear," he said, poking at the stuffing coming out, "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"He's gonna tear more if you don't fix him!" Anakin shouted, lifting up his arms and making a grabbing motion.

"Anakin, we've talked about not shouting at people." Obi-Wan reprimanded, passing the bantha back to his padawan, "and manners?"

The youngling looked at Markyles and sighed, "Please fix him," he asked, his voice not quite so loud, "he'll lose all of his insides."

The corners of Obi-Wan's mouth twitched a little, "All right. I'll see if I have something to fix him up with."

It was getting on to eight; really the boy should have been in bed by now, but the Jedi doubted he would go to bed without his beloved bantha. It really did make him wonder what he would do with the toy when he grew up. Anakin followed him round the apartment as he searched for a needle and some thread, but much to the boy's disappointment, he could find nothing to heal Markyle.

Obi-Wan turned to the small boy, his face still set in determination, "Does he have to get fixed tonight?" he asked, almost wearily.

Anakin nodded with the utmost seriousness, "He's gonna all fall out."

The Jedi stroked his beard and nodded. There really wasn't a whole lot of point arguing with him, not on a matter like this, "All right then. Get your cloak, we're going out."

"Medbay?"

Obi-Wan laughed, "No, Anakin to the store. I need to buy something to fix your bantha up."

"Could have been to the medbay," Anakin grumbled.

...

Anakin, as usual, was running on ahead of Obi-Wan. The Jedi couldn't help but find it amusing, as he knew exactly why his padawan was so giddy; he was staying up past his bed time and what's more he was out of the temple. It really did not take a lot to make the boy happy these days.

"Anakin," he called, watching the boy almost fall over as he skidded to a halt, "you'll slip if you go too fast, you're still wet from the rain."

"'ll be careful, Master!" Anakin called, grinning, before dashing off again.

Obi-Wan shook his head, hoping the youngling wouldn't actually fall over. Maybe it would teach him to actually slow down for once, but he doubted it. Anakin had never been one for taking things slowly.

He had felt it before he had seen it. That was often what happened with those attuned to the Force; eyes can deceive, but the Force never lies. He couldn't see him, he didn't see the blaster, didn't see him aim. But Obi-Wan felt it, that sharp, stab of fear to his gut, the man's warped presence, the danger it brought. It only took a second for the world to explode.

_"Anakin!"_

The boy didn't know what was happening before his master slammed into him. Markyle flew from his grip, flying out of sight as everything around them crashed to the ground. He could hear the dull thuds and loud smashes as everything from the shelves clattered to the floor, hear his master's ragged breathing, but there was hardly time to take it all in, no time to figure out was going on because Obi-Wan was scrambling to his feet, igniting his lightsaber and running as fast he could as the sounds of blast shots assaulted the youngling's ears.

Another shot screamed past them, so close the Jedi could feel its heat. It was almost as though his brain had shut down; he couldn't think, there wasn't time to think, only act. There wasn't time, there was no time, more and more shots were following them as Obi-Wan ran to the door. His grip didn't falter on Anakin, rather he held on tighter as he felt a shot rip tear past his leg. It wasn't a direct hit, but it was enough to make him him to cry out in pain, to falter. It was enough for the man to stop him right in his tracks.

The blaster was aimed right at them, the owner's face half hidden with a sort of mask, though he could still see the eyes and only told him what he already knew: bounty hunter.

"Give me the kid," he ordered, his eyes never leaving Obi-Wan's.

The man was a fool if he could think he could actually bargain with Obi-Wan, especially when he had a lightsaber in his hand. He could and would defend himself against anything that blaster could produce.

"My orders are to take him alive," the man continued, "they say nothing about what state he has to be in."

Kenobi moved his lightsaber to cover Anakin more, his grip on him so tight he knew it would be hurting, but he didn't dare loosen up.

"Who's orders?"

He could see him grin beneath his mask, the edges of his eyes wrinkling with icy mirth. He rose his blaster to the Jedi's face, "You won't get the chance to find out."

Shards of glass, glittering, sparkling amongst the rain drops crashed around Obi-Wan as his body was thrown through the door; there was a familiar, sickening crunch as he collided with floor of the hangar bay. The rain was pounding on the ground, the man rolling, slipping, sliding across the hangar until he felt his legs slide over the edge. His finger tips scrabbled desperately to get a grip, one arm still clutching Anakin; he could feel the other pull and burn, the strain of holding both him and Anakin seemingly tearing his muscle apart.

"Anakin," he gasped, his arm trembling. Force, he was scarcely holding on by his fingertips, "put your arms around my neck and don't let go."

Anakin had his eyes shut tight, too shocked to make even make a noise. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around his master's neck, the boy's small arms almost squeezing the breath out of Obi-Wan. His back screamed in protest as he heaved himself up onto floor, the Jedi's arms burning, his fingers turning almost numb with the rain and exertion. He collapsed onto his back, rain falling into his eyes as he stared up at the dark clouds above him.

"Anakin," he wheezed, "you can let go now."

The boy's grip loosened and Obi-Wan let out a rasping gasp. Everything hurt. There wasn't a place on his body that wasn't filled with a burning ache that bled into his very bones. It was effort merely to get onto his knees, but he forced himself too, allowing himself to cry out as pressure was put on his leg. He managed to rise to his feet, one aching arm clinging to the youngling. He reached out and his lightsaber flew to his hand.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, allowing the rain to wash over him, letting it soak his robes, the cold almost making him numb, though not quite yet, the drenching water reminding him that they had survived. There was no hole through his chest, Anakin shivering, scared, but alive. They were both alive.

"Are you alright?" he rasped, "Anakin, are you hurt?" the boy didn't take his face from his shoulder, but he managed to shake his head. The Jedi absently diagnosed shock and hoped that that was all, but he would have to check at the temple. If they had survived, then there was a chance the bounty hunter had stolen a bit of their luck. Limping, he made his way through the rain back to the shop, lightsaber ignited. The lights had gone out, but the blue of his lightsaber was bright enough to illuminate the way. He stepped over the debris, glass and other things crunching under foot. Finally, he found the bounty hunter.

Obi-Wan checked for a pulse he knew he wasn't going to find. In the glow of his weapon he could see the blood and brains smeared on the wall. He turned from it; that was the last thing he wanted Anakin to see. It wasn't his fault, the boy's powers were entirely out of his control and most likely he saved their lives, but younglings and death did not go well together. Even though he was dead, Obi-Wan didn't want to be away from the temple any longer. There wouldn't just be one bounty hunter after his padawan and a thrill of terror shook him at the thought of so many killers and hunters after Anakin. He was three and though he had powers, they were entirely out of his control. Other than that, the boy was helpless.

He made his way as fast as he could to his speeder, ignoring how the pain in his thigh flared up as he clambered in. It was always Anakin who had been the reckless flyer, the one who was always so eager to hurtle through traffic at a suicidal speed. The podd racing, it seemed, had never quite left him. But now it was his master who was dodging traffic, hurtling through as fast as he could.

He glanced down at the small boy sitting on his lap, who still hadn't made a single sound. He was pale, his gaze unnervingly vacant as he stared at nothing. The Jedi could feel the slight tremors run through the small body. He was in shock, but Obi-Wan couldn't deal with that right now. Once they were back in the temple, once they were safe, then he could help Anakin.

...

Once they landed, Obi-Wan made his way into the temple as fast as he could, though it was hard; his leg was still burning with every step he took and the pain in his back brought a wheeze to every breath he took. He let out a sigh of relief once they were inside and he knelt down, ignoring the pain it brought, standing Anakin before him. The boy still wasn't speaking, staring listlessly into space.

"Anakin," he placed his hands on the cold cheeks, moving his head gently to make those blue eyes meet his, "Anakin, are you alright?"

Slowly, the boy's eyes focused, realisation mingled with confusion showing on his face. He stared up at his master, his breath quickening. "Anakin, it's okay, you're safe. We're back at the temple, we're safe. It's alright, little one."

The youngling looked round, his mouth working, but still no words were coming out. He started to stammer, "Wh... wh-wh-wh-"

"He's gone, Anakin," Obi-Wan soothed, wincing at the child's stuttering attempts to speak, "he can't come after us any more."

Anakin turned his head back, staring at his master with round eyes. He could see the cogs in his mind working, the boy slowly piecing things together, going back over their horrible adventure. His body began to shake violently and ragged, broken whimpers and sobs began to echo round the empty corridor. It was when Obi-Wan pulled him into his arms that he started to howl. He hid his face into his into his neck, unable to speak, only to cry against his master.

"It's okay," Obi-Wan murmured, hugging the boy to him tightly, "it's all right, padawan," he pressed a kiss against the rain soaked locks. He staggered to his feet, still holding the boy to his chest, "we're safe now. You were so brave, Anakin. I'm so proud you," he rubbed the shaking back, taking in a shuddering breath, "I'm so proud of you."

...

Anakin hadn't stopped crying. True, he wasn't quite as hysterical as he was before, but he was still crying in earnest. He watched as the healer checked Obi-Wan over with round, tear spilling eyes. Obi-Wan gave him a tired, but reassuring smile. He knew Anakin wanted to be with him right at that very moment, but for now, he would just have to contend with being with Rex.

After arriving, the Jedi thought it best to get as much protection possible and he knew that Anakin would be in too much of a state to allow anyone who wasn't a friend hold him whilst his master was being looked over. He'd found Rex and Cody still awake, thankfully. Rex had gone with him and Anakin to the healers, whilst Cody had gone to inform Master Yoda and Windu about what had happened. Well, that and to go back to the store and look for Markyle. Anakin may had forgotten him for the time being, but he would remember him at some point and once he realised he was gone, it would only make things worse.

"Doesn't Anakin need to get looked over?" Rex asked, absently stroking the boy's hair. Anakin was sat on his lap, both of his arms wrapped around the one holding him.

"I don't think he'll let the healers look at him," Obi-Wan said, wincing as the healer prodded at his back, "perhaps you could give him a once over, Rex. I don't Anakin wants me out of his sight right now and I'm more concerned for his mental health than anything else. But he needs to change his clothes and get dry. You don't mind, do you?"

Rex shook his head, "Sir, I was the one who was him after he fell into that river on Bajim, remember?"

How could he forget? By the time he got there, Rex had already stripped the poor boy of all his clothes, despite his weak protests. The river was a sluggish, slow moving trail of ice and water and his padawan had managed to fall right into it. Rex had saved his life that day; Anakin's blue lips and the tremors racking his body were testament to just how close he came to hypothermia and possibly worse. They were brothers in arms; Rex had taken care of his commanding officer before and he certainly didn't mind doing so now.

"Of course," he murmured, smiling a little, "I just thought I should check."

Rex nodded, before turning to a healer and asking for a towel and some fresh robes. All the time Rex was checking Anakin, the boy's eyes remained fixed on Obi-Wan. He cried particularly loudly at certain points where the man's gentle fingers found bruises, but other than that, he made no form of communication. The boy still hadn't said a word.

"No breakages," Rex informed Obi-Wan, wrapping the large towel round him and drying him with it vigorously "he's bruised, but he should be alright."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard, his shoulders sagging with relief, "Thank you, Rex."

"Master Kenobi, I think you should go into a bacta tank," Obi-Wan's healer said from behind him, "I think it would only take a few hours at the most."

Obi-Wan shook his head, "I'm afraid my padawan doesn't have a few hours. He'll become even more hysterical if I'm not with him. Will my leg heal with out the bacta tank?"

The healer clearly didn't look pleased with this answer, but she glanced at Anakin, who was still soaking wet, though Rex was doing his best to dry him off, "Yes, it will. Luckily it was just a flesh wound and didn't hit any muscle. Your back will hurt a lot for the next few days though."

"That I can live with," Obi-Wan replied, smiling a little, "thank you."

Once his leg was patched up, the healer helped him put on some fresh robes, the feel of dry clothes pleasant after peeling the sopping robes from his skin.

"Thank you, Rex," he smiled, making his way to them, "I appreciate it really."

Rex returned the smile, "It was no trouble, Sir. He's all dry, but he's still cold."

"I'll give him a bath once I've spoken to Master Yoda and Master Windu," he said, lifting the small boy up into his arms. Anakin instantly latched onto him, his cries quieting a little as he buried his face against his shoulder, "hopefully it won't be too long."

"Sir," Obi-Wan looked up to see Cody entering the room, "Master Yoda and Master Windu are waiting in your rooms, Sir. And I found this," he withdrew a very tattered, torn Markyle from behind his back, "I managed to get there before anybody else."

Anakin peered at Cody, before his eyes fell on Markyle. They grew impossibly round and he took in a deep breath. He stared for a moment before, much to everyone's surprise he let out a wail and began to cry even harder than before.

Cody looked genuinely concerned, "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, watching the small boy that was supposed to be his general sob uncontrollably.

Obi-Wan shook his head, "No, Cody, you didn't. He's in shock, don't worry about it," he took Markyle off Cody and gave him a smile, "thank you."

"M-" Obi-Wan stopped at Anakin's stuttering voice, "M-m-m..." the boy rubbed his eyes, shaking his head, "ma f-fau... ma f-f-faul-"

"No, Anakin, stop," Obi-Wan eased himself onto the bed, holding the small boy on his lap in front of this, "Anakin," he said firmly, "this is not your fault. In no way is this your fault, padawan."

"B-b-b-bu," he pointed a shaking finger at the bantha, "M-m-mar-"

"Anakin, if we hadn't have left the temple tonight, then we would have done another night," he gently tipped the boy's chin up, forcing their eyes to meet, "this is not your fault, padawan. If they hadn't have come after us tonight, they would have done so another night. Neither of us could have known."

"B-b-bu," it was awful to listen to the boy splutter helplessly. He was trying so hard to speak, but the words weren't cooperating, "h-h-h-hur... h-h-hur-"

"Yes, you hurt me. But," he said quickly, forcing the boy to look at him again, "you saved my life. You saved both of us. I will not have you beating yourself up because of this, do you understand, Anakin?"

Anakin whimpered, but nodded.

Obi-Wan sighed, stroking away the tears on his cheek, "I don't care how badly I get hurt, Anakin. I will take anything, any amount of pain, even if that pain is from you, as long as your safe," he offered him a smile, "believe me padawan, I wouldn't be a good master if I didn't."


End file.
